Live updates: West defeats Hunt in Georgia 2nd Congressional runoff

Nick Wooten
·4 min read
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Update 11:06 p.m.

Unofficially vote tallies have Chris West winning Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District runoff over Jeremy Hunt. With 99% of the ballots counted, West leads 14,608 to 13,853. West will face Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop in November.

Joanne Cogle defeated Laketha Ashe in the Columbus Council District 7 runoff, 454-373 with all ballots counted.

Update 10:10 p.m.

Gary Bechtel is the new Macon Water Authority chairman after he defeated Desmond Brown in a runoff 8,499 (69%) votes to 3,818 (31%).

Update 10:05 p.m.

Small business owner Joanne Cogle defeated Laketha Ashe to become the new Columbus Council District 7 representative in Tuesday’s runoff election. According to unofficial vote tallies, Cogle won 454-373.

Update 9:30 p.m.

As Muscogee nearly finishes counting and Bibb County numbers come in, Jeremy Hunt narrows his gap to Chris West.

The Associated Press has West leading 14,213-13,013 with an estimated 92.6% of ballots counted. In Muscogee, Hunt leads 1,913-1,232 with 22 of 25 precincts reporting.

Joanne Cogle leads Laketha Ashe in the Columbus Council District 7 race, 450-371. Six of the seven precincts are reporting.

In the Macon Water Authority chairman race, Gary Bechtel leads Desmond Brown 5,872 votes to 3,064.

Update 9:25 p.m.

With 10 of 31 precincts reporting, Gary Bechtel is leading Desmond Brown 3,835 votes (63.41%) to 2,213 (36.59%) in the Macon Water Authority chairman race.

Update 9:05 p.m.

Joanne Cogle leads Laketha Ashe, 444-342.

In Columbus, Jeremy Hunt leads Chris West in the Republican 2nd Congressional District runoff, 1,253-812 with 16 of 25 precincts reporting. However, West leads the overall vote according to estimated vote counts from the Associated Press. West leads 12,087-10,392.

  • Lt.Gov: Bailey: 1,900, Hall: 1,703

  • Sec. of State: Dawkins-Haigler - 1,373, Nguyen - 2,230

  • Com. Insurance: Baker - 1,661; Robinson - 1,898

  • Com. Labor: Boddie - 2,444, Horn - 1,129

Update 8:30 p.m.

Jeremy Hunt maintains a lead in Columbus, but Chris West maintains a lead in the Georgia 2nd Congressional District runoff.

Hunt leads in Columbus, 765-453. The Associated Press estimates that 49.3% of the votes have been counted. West leads, 9,097-7,256.

In the Columbus Council District 7 race, Joanne Cogle leads Laketha Ashe, 234-148.

Other Columbus numbers for statewide races are:

  • Lt.Gov: Bailey: 1311, Hall: 1220

  • Sec. of State: Dawkins-Haigler - 935, Nguyen -1598

  • Com. Insurance: Baker - 1152; Robinson - 1345

  • Com. Labor: Boddie - 1747, Horn - 768

Update: 8 p.m.

The Associated Press called the Democratic Secretary of State runoff for Bee Nguyen.

Nguyen will face incumbent Brad Raffensperger in November and is competing to be the first Asian American elected to executive office in Georgia history. Nguyen, a state representative, defeated Dee Dawkins-Haigler.

Muscogee County has reported its first batch of early votes.

They are:

  • Lt. Gov.: Bailey - 577, Hall - 569

  • Sec. of State: Dawkins-Haigler - 397, Nguyen - 748

  • Com. Insurance: Baker - 537; Robinson - 595

  • Com. Labor: Boddie - 786, Horn - 348

  • 2nd Congressional District: Hunt - 465, West - 253

  • Council Dist. 7: Ashe - 82, Cogle - 127

With an estimated 19% of the votes counted, West leads Hunt, 4,021 to 2,828, according to the Associated Press.

This story will be updated later.

Polls close

Polls in Georgia are now closed, and ballots will soon be counted.

In Columbus and Macon, the race receiving the most attention in the Republican runoff in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District between Jeremy Hunt and Chris West. Hunt, a 28-year-old former U.S. Army captain and Yale Law student, was the top vote-getter in May’s primary, collecting 37% of the total ballots cast. West, a Thomasville attorney, finished in 2nd with just over 30%.

Small business owners Laketha Ashe and Joanne Cogle are in a runoff for Columbus Council’s District 7 seat. In Macon, Gary Bechtel and Desmond Brown are in a runoff to decide who will chair the Macon Water Authority.

Statewide races

There are no statewide Republican runoffs, but there are four elections on the Democratic side. They are:

They are:

  • Lt. Gov: Charlie Bailey vs. Kwanza Hall

  • Secretary of State: Dee Dawkins-Hagler vs. Bee Nguyen

  • Insurance Commissioner: Raphael Baker vs. Janice Laws Robinson

  • Commissioner of Labor: William “Will” Boddie, Jr. vs. Nicole Horn

This story will be updated through the night. Check back in for updates.