Cobb primary roundup: Setzler wins Senate nom, Birrell dominates, school board battle lines drawn

May 26—Tuesday's primary elections set up November matchups in races for Cobb's state legislative seats, county commission and school board, among other races.

In north Cobb's state Senate District 37, state Rep. Ed Setzler beat two fellow Republicans — David Delk and Scott Johnson — to win the nomination. Setzler bagged 54% of the roughly 30,000 votes cast. Delk finished second, pulling in 26%, and Johnson third, with 20%.

"It's with deep humility that we saw the results come in last night and confirm what we were feeling on the ground — that a message of proven conservative leadership ... would resonate with people," Setzler said Wednesday.

Setzler has served in the state House since 2005 representing northwest Cobb and is looking to succeed longtime state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, who is retiring.

"Our campaign, we needed to raise the resources and communicate the message and have the volunteers. We felt like we had the team to do it," Setzler continued. "And I just would like to thank the two friends of mine that ran a spirited campaign, I think we're gonna go forward unified into November."

In the general election, Setzler will face Democrat Vanessa Parker, who won her primary with 70% of the vote over fellow Democrat Titus Nichols.

The district favors Republicans by an estimated 13 points, according to Princeton University's Gerrymandering Project, which estimates the partisan lean of state legislative districts.

First-time candidate Delk had hoped to make it into a runoff. Given Setzler's political experience, Delk was happy with the effort his campaign made.

"In the end we did, with the resources we had and the people we had around this, I felt like we did the best job we possibly could," Delk said. "I got a lot of positive feedback from people who have run campaigns before."

Delk said he probably will run for office again. He also complemented his opponents for running positive races.

Johnson, a member of the state Board of Education, congratulated Setzler Wednesday and said he'd make "a great state senator."

"You know the right things to do, and you hope you're doing enough of them to make a difference. And you know, the outcome is what voters choose ... I will remain involved in supporting folks in the Republican Party," Johnson said.

Below are other local election results. All figures cited come from the Georgia Secretary of State's office and represent unofficial results. Unless otherwise noted, results represent 100% of precincts reported.

Other state Senate races

In state Senate District 6, only 50% of precincts were reported by press time, due to outstanding Fulton County ballots. Republican Fred Glass led the race with 68% of the vote over Angelic Moore. On the Democratic side, Jason Esteves led with 54% of the vote over Luisa Wakeman. The seat was vacated when incumbent state Sen. Jen Jordan, D-Atlanta chose to run for state attorney general — Jordan is now the Democratic nominee in that race.

Incumbent state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, fended off a primary challenge from Andy Soha, winning 85% of the vote in District 32. In November, Kirkpatrick will face Democrat Sylvia Bennett, who ran unopposed.

State Sen. Michael "Doc" Rhett, D-Marietta, defeated his primary challenger Eurial Hemmerly with 68% of the vote in District 33. Rhett has no Republican opponent in November.

In another race where no Republicans qualified, state Sen. Horacena Tate, D-Atlanta, appeared to be renominated with 64% of the vote. Due to delayed Fulton County numbers only 50% of precincts in District 38 were reported by press time. Challenger Melody Bray came second with 25% of the vote, followed by two other candidates.

In Senate District 56, incumbent Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, was renominated without opposition. He will face Democratic nominee Patrick Thompson, who was also unopposed.

State House

In the open state House District 22 race, Republican Jordan Ridley won her primary with 54% of the vote over Donna Kosicki. In the general election, Ridley will go up against Democrat Stacee Lashone Hill, who was unopposed in the primary.

Incumbent District 34 state Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta, was unopposed in his primary. Seabaugh in November will face Democrat Dorothy Coker, who was also unopposed.

The race to replace Setzler in District 35 brought just one Republican, Robert Trim. Trim in the general election will face Democrat Lisa Campbell, who won her primary with 60%, beating opponents Kyle Rinaudo and Nick Miller.

State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, R-Marietta, was unopposed in her District 36 primary. Democrat James Ryner was unopposed in the primary and will challenge Ehrhart in November.

State Rep. Mary Frances Williams, D-Marietta, was unopposed in her District 37 primary. Republican Marites "Tess" Redding was unopposed and will challenge Williams in November.

State Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, ran unopposed in the primary and has no Republican opponent in District 38.

Austell-based house District 39 saw a crowded Democratic primary after incumbent Rep. Erica Thomas announced she would not seek reelection. Monica Delancy led the pack of five candidates with 29% of the vote, and will advance to a primary runoff against Terry Cummings, who received 27%. The winner of the runoff will face Republican Olivia Angel in November.

House District 40 became an open seat when Rep. Erick Allen, D-Smyrna, decided to run for lieutenant governor (Allen did not make the primary runoff Tuesday). Former state Rep. Doug Stoner won the Democratic primary in the 40th with 60% of the vote, beating Thomas Casez. Stoner will face Republican Fun Fong, who was unopposed, in the general election.

In House District 41, incumbent Rep. Michael Smith, D-Marietta, was unopposed in his primary, and in November will face Republican challenger James Allen Rodi, who was also unopposed.

State Rep. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna, drew neither a primary challenger nor a Republican opponent in District 42.

District 43 was made open when incumbent Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Mariettachose to run instead in District 45. Anna Tillman is the unopposed Republican nominee in the 43rd. Democrat Solomon Adesanya won the Democratic primary with 57% over Benjamin Stahl.

Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, was unopposed in the District 44 primary. He faces a Democratic challenger who was unopposed, Willie Mae Oyogoa, in November.

Rep. Cooper won the District 45 GOP primary over Carminthia Moore with 78% of the vote, and will face Democrat Dustin McCormick, who ran unopposed, in the general election.

Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, was unopposed in the District 46 primary. He faces Democrat Michael Garza, who was also unopposed, in the general election.

County Commission

Incumbent Commissioner JoAnn Birrell cruised to renomination in the District 3 GOP primary with 77% of the vote, defeating Judy Sarden. In November, Birrell will square off against Democrat Christine Triebsch, who ran unopposed.

District 1 incumbent Commissioner Keli Gambrill ran unopposed in her primary, and faces no Democratic opposition in November.

Board of Education

District 2 of the Cobb County Board of Education became an open race when incumbent Jaha Howard decided to run for state school superintendent (Howard lost the nomination to fellow Democrat Alisha Thomas Searcy).

Democrat Becky Sayler won the District 2 nomination with 53%, defeating Andres Sandate.

Sayler will face Republican Stephen George, Jr., who won with 51%, defeating Matthew "Anthony" Sears.

Board Chairman David Chastain was unopposed in his District 4 primary. His Democratic opponent Catherine Pozniak was also unopposed — the two will face off in the general election.

Solicitor General

Longtime Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan did not seek reelection. Democrat Makia Metzger won her primary with 58% of the vote, defeating Chris Lanning. Metzger will face the only Republican in the race, Courtney Martin Brubaker.

Smyrna City Council

An open seat on the Smyrna City Council was on the ballot after Austin Wagner resigned to take a job in the Atlanta mayor's office. The nonpartisan race for Ward 2 attracted five candidates and is heading to a runoff between first-place finisher Latonia Hines, who won 32% of the vote, and second-place finisher Natalie Keng, who won 28% of the vote.