Georgia’s crowded primaries set up a long list of June 16 runoffs, ending some campaigns while giving others a second shot at higher office.
Some candidates, including Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms with 56% of the vote in a seven-way race, and the Democratic and Republican candidates for attorney general, won outright and can focus on November.
But many contests fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff, sending voters back to the polls for races including the GOP nominations for governor (Lt. Gov. Burt Jones vs. billionaire Rick Jackson) and U.S. Senate (Derek Dooley vs. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins).
Down the ballot, runoffs will also be required in both parties for lieutenant governor and secretary of state, in the Democratic primaries for agriculture, labor and insurance commissioners, and in the Republican primary for state school superintendent.
Some races feel like “Groundhog Day,” with recent special-election winner U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller and Public Service Commissioner Fitz Johnson facing familiar opponents again.
Fuller, briefly the incumbent, won his primary outright and will face Democrat Shawn Harris in November after defeating him in last month’s special election to complete the term of Marjorie Taylor Greene after she resigned.
Johnson will try to win back the seat he lost to Peter Hubbard in a special election last year.
Open congressional seats created by retirements, bids for U.S. Senate and the death of U.S. Rep. David Scott have also produced runoffs, including in Districts 1 and 11. But other contests, such as those to replace Collins in District 10 and Scott in District 13, were decided outright in the primary.
Democratsoutdrew GOPinGeorgia primaryasturnout flippedfrom2022
Democrats drew more voters than Republicans in Georgia’s primary election, reversing the pattern from the 2022 midterm primary, when the GOP dominated.
Democrats accounted for about 1.1 million votes, roughly 53% of the total, compared with about 940,000 Republican votes, just over 45%.
Turnout in the Democratic governor’s primary was up by half from 2022, while GOP turnout fell by a quarter.
Similar shifts appeared in other statewide races, including the contest for U.S. Senate.
Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie called the numbers “not a good sign for Republicans,” noting they reflect national headwinds for the GOP.
Gillespie said polling still shows more Republican than Democratic voters in Georgia.
Democrats celebrated their turnout edge while Republicans argued that Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, whom they attacked as a “defundthe- police lunatic,” could depress Democratic turnout in November.
Overall participation remained modest: the nearly 2.1 million votes cast represented just 28.1% of active voters.
Judicial ethics panel publishedconcerns aboutGeorgia SupremeCourt candidates’abortion remarks
Georgia’s Judicial Qualifications Commission said two Georgia Supreme Court candidates may have violated judicial ethics rules by expressing support for abortion rights and by endorsing each other’s campaigns.
The commission posted public statements about former state Sen. Jen Jordan, who was challenging Justice Sarah Warren, and attorney Miracle Rankin, who was running against Justice Charlie Bethel, on May 18, the day before their nonpartisan election.
Afterward, Jordan and Rankin lost their respective elections to Warren and Bethel, who had been appointed to the court in 2018 by former Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican.
The commission posted the notices after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency order May 17, blocking a lower court’s attempt to temporarily silence the agency on First Amendment grounds.
Two of the Eleventh Circuit judges in the majority were appointed by President Donald Trump, and the dissenting judge was appointed by former President Joe Biden.
The commission’s statements said Jordan and Rankin may have breached rules against publicly endorsing other campaigns and against making statements that “commit candidates with respect to issues” that could come before the court, including abortion.