Candidates for rare open seats on Georgia's top two courts raised $1.6 million before one race vanished and the other shrank when Justice Robert Benham decided not finish his Supreme Court term.

Even more money was expected by the May 19 contest since most fundraising occurs in the final months of a campaign, said Kristin Oblander, an Atlanta political consultant who worked for candidates in both races.

One of her clients, Audrey Berland, a business litigator with Ichter Davis, led the eight-way Court of Appeals campaign in fundraising with $148,354. But after Benham's surprise announcement that he would leave the bench in March instead of the end of the year, Berland's organization issued checks for more than $100,000 to 175 donors, financial disclosures show.

Winding down the campaign and returning contributions "has been, and continues to be, a significant undertaking," Berland said, adding any leftover funds will go to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

She said she was grateful for the experience of campaigning "and humbled by the encouragement and support I received along the way."

Four candidates launched campaigns for Benham's seat on the Supreme Court. Former Rep. John Barrow, D-Georgia, raised $545,604, while Presiding Judge Sara Doyle of the Court of Appeals raised $377,057. Former state Rep. Beth Beskin, R-Atlanta, collected $201,886, while Judge Horace Johnson of Alcovy Circuit Superior Court pulled in $126,897.

Because Doyle was seeking the spot on the high court, eight candidates launched campaigns for her seat. Following Berland in fundraising were:

• Tabitha Ponder Beckford, a staff attorney for the state Judicial Council's standing Access to Justice Committee ($75,131);
• Lyndsey Rudder, a Fulton County deputy district attorney ($71,850);
• Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow, a DeKalb County senior assistant district attorney ($41,695);
• Nicole Leet, an insurance defense litigator with Gray, Rust, St. Amand, Moffett & Brieske ($37,869);
• Lee Kynes, an appellate attorney ($30,650);
• Judy Farrington Aust, of counsel at Goodman McGuffey ($29,900); and
• Bennett Bryan, who heads appellate litigation for the DeKalb County Law Department ($10,308).

Former Supreme Court candidates Doyle, Beskin and Johnson have indicated they will seek Gov. Brian Kemp's appointment to fill Benham's seat in a process that formally began Wednesday.

Doyle told the Daily Report that, if Kemp appoints her to the high court, she will use the $303,858 she has remaining in her suspended high court campaign for an election to a full term in 2022. If Kemp chooses someone else, her campaign will return the funds minus expenses.

Meanwhile, she is raising separate funds to retain her current seat on the Court of Appeals. That race is much smaller, but Beckford and Bryan are still running.

Like Doyle, Johnson is seeking the governor's nod to replace Benham and, if selected, plans to ask donors whether he can shift the high court campaign money for a 2022 run.

Both Doyle and Johnson said their fundraising efforts were succeeding with far more expected, had they not suspended their campaigns in the wake of Benham's December announcement.

Barrow could not be reached by deadline, and Beskin said only that she planned to go through the governor's appointment process for the high court.

Although most of the $1.6 million raised by the candidates was still waiting to be spent, the reports showed payments for printing, meeting rooms, website maintenance, fundraising costs, staff and other campaign necessities. For example, Berland's and Doyle's campaigns each paid Oblander's group $20,000.

The Daily Report asked Oblander how much the upheaval will cost political consultants. She said high-quality advisers "are always going to be in demand."

Along with the candidates whose campaigns were cut short, she added, "The big losers are the citizens of Georgia who don't get to vote" for a Supreme Court seat.

Debrow said her campaign will return all of the remaining funds after final campaign expenses have been paid. "Donors will have the option to donate their remaining contributions to the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys," said Debrow, who is president of the organization.

Aust also said she would be returning unspent funds. "It has been quite a process pulling together the information we need to make the proper calculations, and I credit my treasurer and great friend Fred Green for all the hard work," she added.

Kynes said he was planning to refund donations "on a pro rata basis once we complete a final accounting of income and expenses."