NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Judge Roger Page is one of three Appellate Court judges and nine total that have applied to fill a vacancy on the bench of Tennessee’s highest court. Judge Page was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2011

The opening created by the retirement of Justice Gary Wade in September gives Gov. Bill Haslam the opportunity to give the five-member court a Republican majority after decades of Democratic control.

The applicants are Matthew Cavitch of Eads; Thomas Radcliffe Frierson of Morristown; Mark Fulks of Johnson City; Ted Hayden of Gallatin; Robert David Meyers of Memphis; Herbert Moncier of Knoxville; Robert Montgomery Jr. of Kingsport; Roger Amos Page of Medina; and Larry Scroggs of Germantown.

A judicial nominating commission appointed by Haslam will narrow the list down to three finalists, and Haslam will choose one. Lawmakers could reject the governor’s nominee if they can agree on a mechanism early next legislative session.