Who is running for office in the Athens elections + what races are on the ballot in 2022
From the Athens-Clarke Commission to the Georgia Legislature to national seats, here are the elections Athens voters should prepare for in 2022.
This includes special elections, general and primary elections, and runoffs.
Of the 10 Athens-Clarke County Commission commission seats, the five odd-numbered districts are on the ballot in May. This includes:
District 1, currently held by Patrick Davenport
District 3, currently held by Melissa Link
District 5, currently held by Tim Denson
District 7, currently held by Russell Edwards
District 9, currently held by Ovita Thornton
Qualifying week was March 7-11 for the election on May 24. The following candidates qualified for the Athens-Clarke mayoral race.
Bennie Coleman III
Kelly Girtz (incumbent)
Pearl Hall
Fred Moorman
Mykeisha Ross
Mara Zúñiga
Candidate info: Pearl Hall, a former school district employee, running for Athens-Clarke mayor
More candidate info: Mykeisha Ross, former neighborhood leader, running for Athens-Clarke County mayor
Three of the five commissioners whose term expires this year will be ineligible to run due to a change in commission district maps that resulted in Melissa Link, Tim Denson and Russell Edwards living outside of their districts.
More: Answering questions about Athens redistricting, its effects on upcoming elections
The following candidates qualified for the Athens-Clarke County Commission races, broken down by district:
County Commissioner, District 1
Patrick Davenport (incumbent)
Audrey Hughes
County Commissioner, District 3
Tiffany Taylor
Asia Thomas
County Commissioner, District 5
Jared Bailey
Dexter Fisher
Matt Pulver
County Commissioner, District 7
John Culpepper
Allen Jones
County Commissioner, District 9 (uncontested)
Ovita Thornton (incumbent)
Similar to the commission, the Clarke County Board of Education's odd-numbered districts are on this spring's ballot. There are nine total BOE members, with five seats up for election. This includes:
District 1, currently held by Greg Davis
District 3, currently held by Linda Davis
District 5, currently held by Kara Dyckman
District 7, currently held by LaKeisha Gannt, board president
District 9, currently held by Tawana Mattox
Three of these five BOE members — Greg Davis, Kara Dyckman and Tawana Mattox — announced that they will not run for re-election.
These individuals as followed, broken down by district, have qualified to run for the board of education:
Board of Education, District 1
James Alexander
Heidi Hensley
Board of Education, District 3 (uncontested)
Linda Davis (incumbent)
Board of Education, District 5
Deston Anderson
Tim Denson
Board of Education, District 7 (uncontested)
Lakeisha Gantt (incumbent)
Board of Education, District 9
Mark Evans
Elder Johnson IV
The next TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax ), which would be effective starting in 2023, will also be on the May 24 ballot.
Additional local races taking place in 2022 include:
Solicitor General (uncontested)
Will Fleenor
Soil & Water Conservation (uncontested)
Ray Rozier
Athens-Clarke County currently has three state House districts and two state Senate districts. Every seat in the Georgia Legislature serves two-year terms and is up for re-election in 2022, meaning that all five representatives’ seats are on next years’ ballots. These seats include:
State House District 117, currently held by Houston Gaines (R)
State House District 118, currently held by Spencer Frye (D)
State House District 119, currently held by Marcus Wiedower (R)
State Senate District 46, currently held by Bill Cowsert (R)
State Senate District 47, currently held by Frank Ginn (R)
There will be one addition seat, for a total of six representatives. Georgia went through the process of redistricting, which changed the map of districts in the Georgia Legislature.
Because of redistricting, Athens residents are now in four state House districts but remain in two state Senate districts. These maps will be used in the 2022 election and will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Here are the candidates for Athens' delegation:
State Senator, District 46
Bill Cowsert (incumbent)
Andrew Ferguson
State Senator, District 47
Charlie Chase
Frank Ginn (incumbent)
Ross Harvin
Conolus Scott Jr.
State House District 120
Houston Gaines (incumbent)
Mokah Johnson
State House District 121
Marcus Wiedower (incumbent)
Jeff Auerbach
State House District 122 (uncontested)
Spencer Frye (incumbent)
State House District 124
Trey Rhodes (incumbent)
Kat Howkins
Statewide, there will be a number of high-level elections for state offices on the ballot including:
Public Service Commission, District 2
Tim Echols (incumbent)
Patty Durand
Russell Edwards
Governor
Catherine Davis
Brian Kemp (incumbent)
David Perdue
Dandiss Taylor
Stacey Abrams
Lieutenant Governor
Burt Jones
Mark McGregor
Butch Miller
Jeanne Seaver
Erick Allen
Charlie Bailey
Tyrone Brooks Jr.
Tony Brown
Kwanza Hall
Jason Hayes
Derrick Jackson
R. Malik
Renitta Shannon
Ryan Graham
Secretary of State
David Belle Isle
Jody Hice
T.J. Hudson
Brad Raffensperger (incumbent)
Dee Dawkins-Haigler
John Eaves
Floyd Griffin
Bee Nguyen
Michael Owens
Attorney General
Chris Carr (incumbent)
John Gordon
Jennifer Jordan
Christian Wise Smith
Martin Cowen
Commissioner of Agriculture
Tyler Harper
Winfred Dukes
Nakita Hemingway
Fred Swann
David Raudabaugh
Commissioner of Insurance
Bill Cowart
John King (incumbent)
Patrick Witt
Raphael Baker
Janice Lawes Robinson
Matthew Wilson
State School Superintendent
John Barge
Richard Woods (incumbent)
Currey Hitchens
Jaha Howard
James Marrow Jr.
Alisha Searcy
Commissioner of Labor
Kartik Bhatt
Mike Coan
Bruce Thompson
William Boddie Jr.
Thomas Dean
Nichole Horn
Lester Jackson III
Nadia Surrency
More: New service commission map would prevent Democrat's challenge against Hoschton's Tim Echols
The U.S. Senate seat currently held by Raphael Warnock will make another appearance on Georgia ballots this year, with Warnock having been elected during a special election last year to fill the remainder of former Sen. Johnny Isakson's term.
This U.S. Senate seat will be up for reelection again for its full six-year term, meaning whoever is elected to this seat will serve as one of Georgia’s senators until 2029.
After redistricting changes, Clarke County falls entirely into congressional House District 10, currently represented by Rep. Jody Hice.
Hice has already announced his intention to run for secretary of state during the upcoming election cycle. With Hice exiting his seat, candidates including Vernon Jones, Paul Broun and Mike Collins, as well as several more, have stepped forward to announce their campaign.
Here is the list of those who have qualified for the U.S. Senate seat and District 10:
United States Senator
Gary black
Josh Clarke
Kelvin King
Johnathan McColumn
Latham Saddler
Herschel Walker
Tamara Johnson-Shealey
Raphael Warnock
United States Representative District 10
Timothy Barr
Paul Broun
Mike Collins
David Curry
Vernon Jones
Marc McMain
Alan Sims
Mitchell Swan
Jessica Fore
Tabitha Johnson-Green
Phyllis Hatcher
Femi Oduwole
Paul Walton
The voter registration deadline is approximately one month before the election date and Georgians can check their voter registration status online.
In order to register, residents can fill out forms either online or in-person at the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections Office, Mitch Schrader Motor Vehicle Office, Athens Regional Library or State Patrol Office.
Special, general, primary, and runoff election dates in 2022 are as follows:
General Primary Election, Nonpartisan General Election and Special Election date: May 24
Runoff for General Primary Election, Nonpartisan General Election and Special Election Runoff date: June 21
General Primary Election Runoff date for Federal Races: June 21
General Election/Special Election date: November 8
General Election/Special Election Runoff date: December 6
General Election Runoff date for Federal Races: December 6
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens, GA elections 2022: What races are on the ballot? Who is running?
