Court race heads to a runoff, set for June 21

May 31—MOULTRIE, Ga. — Colquitt County voters, regardless of party, will have another chance to vote this month as a nonpartisan race has gone to a runoff.

In the election May 24, Catherine Mims Smith led the voting for the Superior Court judgeship with 14,960 votes over William Long Whitesell (11,258) and Robert L. Moore Jr. (6,299), but that wasn't enough to give her the 50% plus 1 vote required for outright victory.

The judgeship is part of the Southern Judicial Circuit, which includes Brooks, Colquitt, Echols, Lowndes and Thomas counties. In Colquitt County, voting was in line with what it was across the circuit. Local voters picked Sims (2,735 votes) over Whitesell (2,041) and Moore (1,275).

The runoff will be held 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, at the same polling sites as were used May 24.

Early voting will take place at the Colquitt County Courthouse Annex 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 13-17. The early voting for the runoff does not include a Saturday voting day.

Anyone interested in voting absentee by mail must request a ballot from the county registrar no later than June 10. Call the registrar's office at 616-7056.

The May 24 election also included both a Republican and a Democratic party primary for state and local offices. All Republican races that affect Colquitt County were decided (see below) but some Democratic races will also go to a runoff.

Anyone who voted Republican in last week's election cannot vote in the Democratic primary runoff June 21, but everyone else can — those who voted Democrat on May 24 as well as those who did not vote at all. Everyone who's registered to vote in Colquitt County can vote in the nonpartisan runoff.

Local races

About 27.5% of Colquitt County's registered voters cast ballots in the May 24 election, and the majority of them voted Republican. Both parties had several contested races at the state level, but locally all the contested races were either in the Republican primary or the nonpartisan election.

Colquitt County voters chose incumbent Denver Braswell over Bruce Norton in the County Commission chairman's race, 3,937 votes to 1,727. As the Republican nominee, Braswell will be unopposed in the November general election.

Hayden Willis will replace Robbie Pitts on the Colquitt County Board of Education. Pitts, the District 4 representative, did not run for re-election. Willis and Lee Elrod campaigned to replace him. Willis received 602 votes to Elrod's 269. The winner of the nonpartisan Board of Education election will take office in January; there is no interparty contest in November.

In another nonpartisan question, voters agreed to continue a 1 percent Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax by a vote of 3,561 Yes to 2,996 No.

Republican primary

All statewide Republican candidates avoided a runoff, but it was very close in the lieutenant governor's race. State Sen. Burt Jones received 50.07% of the vote over Butch Miller (31.12%), Mac McGregor (11.27%) and Jeanne Seaver (7.53%).

The race was so close that the Associated Press could not determine until May 27 whether Jones had won or if there would be a runoff.

Other Republican nominees from the May 24 primary included:

—U.S. Senate, Herschel Walker.

—U.S. House, District 8, Austin Scott, who was unopposed.

—Governor, Brian Kemp.

—Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger.

—Attorney General, Chris Carr.

—Commissioner of Agriculture, Tyler Harper, who was unopposed.

—Commissioner of Insurance, John King.

—School Superintendent, Richard Woods.

—Commissioner of Labor, Bruce Thompson.

—Public Service Commission, District 2, Tim Echols, who was unopposed.

—Public Service Commission, District 3, Fitz Johnson, who was unopposed.

—State Senate, District 11, Dean Burke, who was unopposed.

—State House, District 172, Sam Watson, who was unopposed.

One Republican race that does not represent Colquitt County will send a former Colquitt County resident into a runoff. Chris West, now a resident of Thomasville, came in second in a six-person race for the District 2 U.S. House of Representatives seat. Republican voters in District 2 will choose between West and the top vote-getter, Jeremy Hunt, on June 21 with the winner facing Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop in the November election.

Democratic primary

Unlike the Republicans, four Democratic races at the state level will have runoffs. Nominees and runoffs include:

—U.S. Senate, Rev. Raphael Warnock.

—U.S. House, District 8, Darrius Butler, who was unopposed.

—Governor, Stacey Abrams, who was unopposed.

—Lieutenant Governor, Kwanza Hall will face Charlie Bailey in a runoff.

—Secretary of State, Bee Nguyen will face Dee Dawkins-Haigler in a runoff.

—Attorney General, Jennifer "Jen" Jordan.

—Commissioner of Agriculture, Nakita Hemingway.

—Commissioner of Insurance, Janice Laws Robinson will face Raphael Baker in a runoff.

—School Superintendent, Alicia Thomas Searcy.

—Commissioner of Labor, William "Will" Boddie Jr. will face Nicole Horn in a runoff.

—Public Service Commission, District 2, Patty Durand.

—Public Service Commission, District 3, Sheila Edwards.