Contested seats go to women in Wake's district court:

Three women -- Jacqueline Brewer, Christine Walczyk and Anna E. Worley -- earned spots on Wake County's District Court benches, beating out their male opponents in Tuesday's election.

The three races at the District Court level were the only contested ones in the Wake County Courthouse, with most of the 11 District Court judges running unopposed for re-election.

A historic victory for Alvarez:

Democrat Anita Alvarez won her bid Tuesday to become the first Hispanic and first woman state's attorney in Cook County, handing Republican Tony Peraica his second countywide election defeat in just two years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's a new state's attorney in town, and she's ready to roll up her sleeves of her power-red suits and get down to business," Alvarez declared in a victory speech just after Peraica conceded. "I gotta tell you, it feels good to break that so-called glass ceiling here in Cook County.