Santa Clara County Judge Diane Ritchie lost her seat to prosecutor Matthew Harris, who pulled in 54 percent of the votes.

There’s a lot riding on Election Day in Silicon Valley. Here's a breakdown of some locals races and where each candidate is expected to spend their night partying/crying into their drink.

In her six years on the bench, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Diane Ritchie has become legend for all the wrong reasons. Luckily for voters, Matt Harris, a veteran of the District Attorney’s Office, possesses the experience and confidence the incumbent lacks.

Judge Diane Ritchie scored a shocking victory in 2008 when she won a seat on the Santa Clara County bench, but now she's running for re-election and has no shortage of critics.

Electing a judge for the Santa Clara County Superior Court is usually more about comfort level than name recognition. To put it bluntly: People prefer female judges. That might be why an unknown attorney named Alex Cerul listed his first name as Alexis on the ballot for the June 5 primary. Cerul, a staff attorney for the county, faces the battle-tested Paul Colin out of the District Attorney’s office. With more than 35 judges endorsing Colin in the race, one would think the deputy DA is a shoo-in to replace the retiring Jerome Brock on the bench (he got Brock’s endorsement). But insiders think Cerul has a shot based on “The Ritchie Effect,” named after the shocking 2008 upset scored by Superior Court judge Diane Ritchie.