"It's not unprecedented," Beach said.
Justice got 5,589 votes in the 13th District to Beach's 5,382 votes. Beach, however, won Monongalia County with 2,948 votes to Justice's 2,119. He lost Marion County, netting 2,454 votes to the 3,470 marked on the ballot for Justice.
All vote totals are according to unofficial tallies provided by local and state officials.
Since Justice was no longer a candidate, Beach will run for the Democratic Party in November despite having the lower vote tally.
Beach said many voters probably chose Justice out of respect for his accomplishments in Morgantown and in sympathy for the situation that led to his ending his candidacy.
Justice told The Dominion Post in April that he dropped out of the race due to health reasons. Justice said he was surprised he unofficially won the primary, despite not being a candidate. "I am grateful for the people who supported me," Justice said.
He said he's not reading too much into the results, since, had Beach not been unopposed, he would've run a different campaign.
And he's not dwelling on what might have been.
"The big thing is getting back to good health," Justice said. "I'll be watching from the sidelines in November."
Beach said he is gearing up for the general election, when he'll take on Republican Cindy Frich, a former House of Delegates member. Frich received 3,864 votes in the 13th District, 2,103 of which came from Monongalia County.
"I appreciate their votes, and we look forward to fall," Beach said, thanking his voters. He said his campaign will focus more on his voting record and accomplishments in Charleston.