A Republican candidate for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in November's election conceded defeat on Wednesday, ending his legal efforts to have thousands of ballots thrown out six months after the final votes were cast.

Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin has conceded the North Carolina state Supreme Court election to Democratic Justice Allison Riggs. The decision ends months of legal challenges that have embroiled the unresolved North Carolina contest since November.

Griffin’s concession puts to bed a contentious and chaotic saga in NC politics, one that has raised substantial questions about democracy and may impact the state’s elections for years to come.