GA primary election recap: Johnson, Kendrick to runoff for Augusta mayor in June

Locally, Tuesday voters sent two candidates to a runoff to be Augusta's next mayor, they filled one Columbia County and two Augusta commission seats and sent two others to runoffs.. Both Columbia County school board candidates won re-election.

In statewide races, incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp beat former Sen. David Perdue in the Republican primary, while former University of Georgia football star Herschel Walker will take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in the Nov. 8 general election. Brad Raffensberger defeated challenger Jody Hice in the Repubican secretary of state primary.

LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: Latest results from May 24 primary and nonpartisan elections

12:45 a.m. | Incumbents carry state house, judicial elections

Incumbents for the Georgia Legislature and Augusta Judicial Circuit held onto their seats in the midterm election.

In Georgia State House District 132, Brian Prince, the seat's Democratic incumbent, won the primary against Democrat Traci "Acree" George with 58.7% of the vote. George garnered 41.3%.

In the Augusta Judicial Circuit, two Superior Court judges faced challengers. Incumbent Jesse Stone was re-elected with 53.5% of the vote, overcoming challenger Charles Lyons III. Ashley Wright also won re-election, beating Laverne Gaskins with 73% of the vote.

Carletta Sims Brown, current Chief Judge for Civil and Magistrate Court, also retained her seat with 58% of the vote. Katrell Nash received 42% of the vote.

Richmond County's new State Court Judge will be Ashanti Lilley Pounds, who won the race with 51% of the vote.  Evita Paschall received 48%.

11:10 p.m. | Mayoral candidates address supporters ahead of runoff

Steven Kendrick spoke briefly to supporters as it became apparent the race was headed to a runoff, stressing the need to immediately set their sights on the runoff.

His strategy over the next four weeks is to “keep voters engaged and understanding how important this race is,” Kendrick said.

“I know most of the candidates felt like today. Although it was unlikely, we wanted it to be over,” he said. “But the additional four weeks will give us a chance to focus down on the differences between the candidates and try to make sure that voters stay interested and we keep it top-of-mind.”

The final tally showed Kendrick and Garnett Johnson within a point of each other – 39.39% for Kendrick and 38.8% for Johnson. Former commissioner Marion Williams came in third with 8.9%, followed by retired educator Lori Myles with 3.54%.

"I've learned a lot in that an overwhelming sentiment is that Augusta is hungry for change," Johnson said. "A resonating message with many of the voters and citizens of Augusta Richmond County (is) they're excited about change, they're excited about a different perspective on leadership and I'm fortunate and happy to be able to offer some of those qualities."

Turnout for the citywide election was 28.2%, with approximately 10% casting ballots during three weeks of early voting.

“This is more than amazing for a candidate that never dreamed we would be here tonight,” Johnson said. “Not only, to be in a position to win this race.”

11:00 p.m. | Newcomer beats incumbent for Columbia County Commission

Alison Couch defeated in incumbent Dewey Galeas for Columbia County's District 4 Commission seat, while Kristi Baker and Judy Simmons Teasley retained their positions on the Columbia County school board Tuesday.

10:44 p.m. | Wins and runoffs in Augusta mayoral, Commission elections

All signs pointed to runoffs in Augusta's mayoral election and two of its Commission elections.

Mayoral candidates Steven Kendrick and Garnett Johnson split the vote with 39.3% and 38.8% respectively.

Real estate agent Stacy Pulliam led the group of six candidates for District 2 with 45.8% of votes. Educator Von Pouncey came in second with 14.3%.

A candidate needs at least 50% of votes or heads to a June 21 runoff with the second-place finisher.

In the Super District 10 commission election, incumbent John Clarke garnered 49.1% of votes. He heads to a runoff with former commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle, who had 31.7%.

In two other commission elections a candidate won outright in the incomplete results. In District 6, retired Savannah River Site employee Tony Lewis received 51.4% of votes. In District 4, interim commissioner Alvin Mason won with 56.7% of votes.

10:11 p.m. | Kendrick leading in Augusta's mayoral contest

With 46 of 68 precincts reporting, Augusta mayoral candidate Steven Kendrick led the contest with 40% of votes.

“I’ve feeling great. Everybody expected a runoff; looks like we’re going to have one,” said Kendrick, the former tax commissioner, at his election watch party.

Business owner Garnett Johnson was close behind with 38%. A candidate needs 50% of votes plus one to avoid a runoff, which would be held June 21.

9:55 p.m. | Perdue congratulates Kemp on primary

Former Sen. David Perdue told the Associated Press that he called and congratulated Gov. Brian Kemp on his victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Kemp has over 77% of the vote with 44% of the state's ballots counted, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's election results page.

More: Brian Kemp wins Georgia Republican governor's race primary, will face Stacey Abrams in November

8:25 p.m. | Scanner glitch at Augusta's Bernie Ward Center, quiet day in Columbia Co.

Richmond County Board of Elections Director Travis Doss said the day went smoothly except for an hour-long glitch at the Bernie Ward Community Center. A ballot scanner stopped accepting ballots at 4 p.m. voters put ballots in a locked emergency bin until 5:15 p.m.

"We got a new scanner programmed and we got it out there probably around 5:15, 5:30," he said.

The poll remained open during that time and ballots placed in the emergency bin have been scanned.

Doss said voting went well across Richmond County. "When we look at these primary elections, a big turnout, lots of people, there were some early morning jitters," Doss said.

Doss said once polls close and election workers finish reconciliation, they will arrive at the warehouse for tallying. "I'm hoping, but don't hold me to it, that we should have everything done by 11 p.m. tonight.  We have already uploaded the advance voting numbers and we've uploaded about 90% of the mail-in ballots," he said.

Columbia County director Nancy Gay didn't provide a timeline for election results in that county, but she said precincts are delivering ballots to the elections' warehouse.

"I think (turnout) was kind of light, but I don’t know,” Gay said. “I’m on my way out to the Appling warehouse, which is where our election night festivities are going on, so I’ll have a better idea once I get out there.”

8:07 p.m. | Walker wins Republican primary

The Associated Press has called Herschel Walker the winner of the Republican primary for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat.

Walker will face off against the Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock in the November general election.

7:18 p.m. | Richmond, Columbia Counties' polls close, tallying begins

As the sun sets on election day, none of the area's polls will need to stay open past 7 p.m. With early voting turnout high for a midterm election, most voters did not face lines at the polls.

Richmond County Board of Elections Director Travis Doss said he is "hopeful" that all votes will reach the county's tabulation center by 9 p.m. and be counted by 11 p.m. Columbia County's director was not available for comment when this update went live.

Campaigners remained out and about until the end. Several were outside Providence Baptist Church alongside Wrightsboro Road. Some of them, like Calvin Walker, Jr. and Steve Waters have been working for over 10 hours. However, they say campaign leaders have been making the rounds to make sure everyone is hydrated and doesn’t go hungry.

“They bring you water, food, I had Firehouse Subs, Chick-fil-A,” Walker said. “You gain weight sitting out here.”

“We’re in good shape,” Waters said.

Just a couple houses down the road, Rep. Brian Prince of House District 127 holds up one of his own signs, finishing up one of his last campaign stops for the day. Prince said he’s feeling great ahead of tonight’s results, feels his record speaks for itself, but is not taking anything for granted.

If re-elected, Prince said he has one promise: “To continue to serve. You can always reach out to me, and I’m gonna do whatever I can for my constituents as well as anyone in the CSRA.”

4:45 p.m. | Campaigning continues as election winds down

Outside Julian Smith Casino, a small gathering of Garnett Johnson and Ashley Wright supporters stood together including former mayoral candidate Gould Hagler. Johnson, who owns an office supply business, is running for mayor of Augusta while Wright is running for reelection as superior court judge.

“I feel like he’s basically self-made. [Johnson] started a business in a time when there was a lot going on with the economic collapse – it affected him in a way that he needed to go out on his own, and now he has built something that has been a wonderful provider for his family and the community,” said Hagler, Mayor Hardie Davis’ sole opponent in his 2018 reelection bid.

Oglesby, who supports Wright in her first contested election for judge, said he calls her “boss lady No. 1” for her commitment to the job.

“She’s a great woman. She’s been defending victims for over a decade. She’s a very nice woman; down to earth. She gets the job done,” he said.

4:30 | Supporters show energy for candidates

The mother-daughter team of Capri and Damoni Mason are making some noise outside the polls at First Baptist Church Augusta.

The two are dressed in pink shirts and glasses and holding pink signs in the air. Damoni, 14, walks up and down the busy intersection of Walton Way and Jackson Road, cheering and shouting “Vote Pink!” to passersby.

“She’s a cheerleader,” Capri remarked as she watched her daughter.

“They’re like ‘She’s so loud!,’ ” Damoni said with a laugh as passing cars honked.

The pink motif is in support of mayoral candidate Lori Myles, who goes to the same church as the Masons and has left a big impression on them.

“She’s so sweet,” Damoni said. “She gives off genuine energy, that’s hard to find.”

The Cross Creek High School student said, if she wins, she’d be happy to go work for Myles if a job or internship opens up.

4:06 p.m. | George and Prince campaign at Brigham Center

A dozen campaigns and many more signs greeted voters at the Henry Brigham Center polling place in south Augusta. Among them was the campaign for House District 132, in which former Gold Star spouse Traci George is challenging Rep. Brian Prince, D-Augusta.

Prince’s mother, Eleanor, said her son is able to work with Republican lawmakers to get things done.

“He has communicated with both sides of the aisle and he has gotten effective work done for Richmond County,” she said. “No doubt about it, you must work with people. It doesn’t matter who they are, you need to work with them.”

George, campaigning at the site, said she’d bring an entirely different approach to House District 132.

The district was redrawn from the former House District 127 and spans Jefferson County, Fort Gordon and Grovetown-area west Augusta.

“It’s a new district and it needs new representation that is going to work for us. Representation that is not going to compromise,” she said. “If you look at the demographics of the district, I represent every one of those bullet points.

3:30 p.m. | More people, more precincts in Columbia County

Columbia County Voting Precinct 18, with its polling place at New Life Church on Lewiston Road, used to be the county's largest voting precinct, with more than 7,400 people. But recent soaring growth around Grovetown High School meant tweaking the county's new redistricting map.

Related: Columbia County officials have settled on a new redistricting map to send to the state

The state requires Columbia County's four election districts, which mark the constituencies of county commissioners and school board members, to each hold about the same number of people. But county planners preparing the redistricting map last year found Precinct 18 was split between Districts 2 and 3.

"We do split that precinct, but in our conversations with the executive director of the Board of Elections, because of the population growth in that area, they were already going to have to add a precinct to this side anyway, so we kind of did it for them,” County Manager Scott Johnson said in October 2021.

The solution: Precinct 18 got smaller, and two precincts have been added for the 2022 election. The new Precinct 14 is at Stevens Creek Church Grovetown, on High Meadows Drive near Patriots Park. Precinct 19 is at the Columbia County Health Department on William Few Parkway.

3:00 p.m. | Early voter turnout higher than previous elections

Turnout hit 10% of all registered voters in Richmond and Columbia counties Friday. Nearly 10,000 voted advance in person last week in Augusta, for a three-week total of 13,162, Richmond County Elections Director Travis Doss said. In Columbia County, a total of 11,345 voted early, Director Nancy Gay said.

Voters selecting Republican ballots made up 71% of the total in Columbia County, while voters selecting Democratic ballots made up 74% of those voting in Richmond County.

Overall, more voters across the state have cast ballots. According to the Georgia Secretary of State, early voting is up by over 150% in comparison to early voting for the 2018 primary and by 189% in comparison to the 2020 primary election.

The last time Augusta elected a new mayor, in 2018, Richmond County's early voter turnout was 6%, according to The Chronicle, 4% less than this year.

2:00 p.m. | Smooth sailing at polls across counties

Voting in Richmond and Columbia Counties has been "going well" with no disruptions in voting, according to the countys' Boards of Elections.

"The only issues we have experienced is power in some polling places when they first opened up and batteries were not plugged in," Richmond County's Board of Elections Director Travis Doss said, referring to electronic voting machines. "Luckily, that’s a quick remedy."

His office is getting the "usual phone calls" from residents about where to vote.

"We are also getting the usual phone calls from poll workers trying to locate voters and assist them to their proper polling place," Doss said.

Columbia County Board of Elections Director Nancy Gay said all was well in her county, as well. "It's been smooth thus far," she said.

1:30 p.m. | 'Democracy at work'

Near-perfect weather made for a great day campaigning outside Augusta’s Asbury United Methodist Church polling place.

“It’s been good energy, a steady stream of people coming to vote. Lots of good passion, democracy at work,” said Andrew Goss, campaigning for mayoral candidate Steven Kendrick.

A high of 88 degrees and no rain were forecast for Election Day.

“We have the trees around here and they set up a tent,” said Mary Dixon, who waved a sign for Augusta mayoral candidate Garnett Johnson.

Dixon said she’d worked on legislative campaigns since Sue Burmeister’s in the 1990s but that Johnson was her first mayoral candidate.

1:00 p.m.| Runoffs would be June 21

June 21 runoffs are likely in several of the closely-watched contests, especially the nine-way race for mayor. A candidate must get more than 50% of votes to win outright.

“I’m virtually certain there will be a runoff. I don’t see how you get anybody to pull off a majority with that many candidates in the field,” said Paine College historian Mallory Millender.

Check back after the polls close at 7 p.m. for all the election results.

12:30 p.m. | Timing and style help get passers-by attention

Lee Powell has been campaigning for Augusta mayoral candidate Garnett Johnson since 6:30 a.m., near St. Mark United Methodist Church on Washington Road.

"You catch the 7 o'clock people going down to the hospital, and then you get the 8 o'clock people going downtown and to the hospital," he said.

The candidate's lime-green campaign signs have gotten reactions from passing motorists, according to Powell.

"You get people blowing horns," he said. "To be honest with you, I'd rather they keep their eyes on the road instead of blowing the horn."

12:01 p.m. | Campaigners out to support candidates

Waving at passing traffic, Debra Powell took the day off to campaign for Jesse Stone to win a superior court judgeship for the Augusta Judicial Circuit.

Her boss probably won't mind. She's Stone's secretary.

Powell said, also expressing her support for another incumbent for superior court judge, Ashley Wright.

"I had a dream, three or four months ago, and it was written on a piece of paper that Judge Stone won," Powell said. "I hope it pans out."

11:45 a.m. | First-time poll worker praises system

Today is Jana DeHart’s first time as a polling-place volunteer, and said so far that “it’s amazing how smooth it’s been,” she said. “Pretty steady.”

She moved to Columbia County recently from South Carolina.

“I’m just amazed at how well-organized it is in Georgia,” DeHart said from her station at Martinez Baptist Church. “If every precinct is running like this one, the problem’s not in the voting. Might be in the counting,” she added with a laugh, “but it’s not in the voting.”

11:10 a.m. | Absentee ballots being scanned

Absentee ballots took center stage in the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How does 2022 compare to 2020?

“Nothing compares to 2020,” said Nancy Gay, executive director of the Columbia County Board of Elections.

Her office issued about 1,200 absentee ballots for this primary – just a fraction of the total from the past election cycle. Almost 1,000 already have been scanned in.

“That’s not even a fair comparison because you had 24,000 issued and 17,000 came back,” she said. “If you look at the return rate, we’re doing really, really good.”

9:50 a.m. | Voters comment on scanning of ballots method

Dan and Deb Nixon have been voting at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Evans since moving to Columbia County 22 years ago, and thought the voting process that included scanning paper ballots went smoothly.

“I liked the extra steps with the driver’s license confirming the legality of the vote,” Mr. Nixon said. “I thought that was pretty cool. I’m sure it’s attributable to what (Gov. Brian) Kemp did over the last number of years to ensure the voting process would be legal.”

From 2010 to 2018, Kemp served as Georgia’s Secretary of State, who oversees elections.

How and where to vote in today's elections

Here's what's required to cast your ballot in today's primary and nonpartisan general elections:

• You must be registered to vote. The deadline to register for this election was April 25.

• Voters must show a valid photo ID when voting in person

• Go to your assigned polling place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on May 24. Those in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Sample ballot, polling places

Want to know where to vote and who's  on the ballot? You can find sample ballots and polling location on the My Voter Page on the Secretary of State website.

– Joe Hotchkiss, Susan McCord and Miguel Legoas

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This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Live election updates: Georgia, Augusta area primary 2022 coverage