Editor’s Note: Story developing
While the results from Tuesday’s election are still unofficial, the smoke is clearing and victors have begun to emerge. Some candidates will have to wait until the runoff on Aug. 11 to see if they’ll secure a seat. And others are still awaiting their fate – and holding out hope – as ballots are still being counted.
Congressional Seat Battles
District 5 U.S. Congressman John Lewis secured his seat with 87 percent of the vote. He’ll face Republican Angela Stanton-King in November.
District 13 U.S. Congressman David Scott has regained the lead in his race with 51 percent of the vote. If he’s declared the victor and not pushed into a runoff with Keisha Waites once all votes are tallied, he’ll face Republican Becky Hites in November.
In the high profile U.S. Senate race, Jon Ossof has been declared the winner of the Democratic nomination. He’ll face Republican David Perdue in November.
State Representatives and Senators
South Fulton voters won’t see much change at the state level, as many of the incumbents went unchallenged. Rep. Marie Metze (D-55) cruised ahead of challenger Fred Quinn, Jr. and Rep. Debra Bazemore (D-63) was the victor over Democratic challenger Kenneth Kincaid. Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague (D-65) will face Mandisha A. Thomas in the August runoff.
Sen. Donzella James (D-35) and Sen. Nikema Williams (D-39) pushed ahead of competitiors by large margins. Sen. Horacena Tate (D-38) currently has 53 percent of the votes over Tania Robinson.
Fulton County Showdowns
Khadijah Abdur-Rahman has claimed 57 percent of the votes in the race against District 6 Fulton County Commissioner Joe Carn. Bizarrely, when Abdur-Rahman is officially declared the victor and takes office, not a single commissioner will reside in the eight cities that comprise South Fulton County.
In the race for Fulton County District Attorney, incumbent Paul Howard will head to a runoff with South Fulton resident Fani Willis. Wills grabbed 42 percent percent of the votes, while Howard followed with 35 percent.
Superior Court Judge candidates Melynee Leftridge Harris and Tamika Hrobowski-Houston will face each other in a runoff as well. Hrobowski-Houston had a slight lead with 33 percent of the votes.
Superior Court Judge candidate Shermela Williams and Probate Judge candidate Kenya Johnson performed strong in their respective races. Williams earned 52 percent of the votes against Rebecca Rieder. Johnson took 59 percent of the votes in a three-way contest.
South Fulton Municipal Court Judge Tiffany Sellers was unable to best Racehlle Carnesale, who secured 54 percent of the votes.
In the race for Fulton County Sheriff, Theodore “Ted” Jackson claimed 45 percent of the vote, while Patrick “Pat” Labat followed with 23 percent. They’ll be on the ballot again in August.
In the race for Fulton County School Board, voters will have to narrow down the District 4 candidates again in August. Franchesca Warren earned 38 percent of the votes, closely followed by Sandra Wright with 35 percent.
It’s unclear when all of the ballots will be counted. The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections will hold its Regular Meeting today, June 11, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. It will be livestreamed on FGTV on YouTube.
Photos: Among the candidates headed to runoffs include Fulton County Sheriff candidate Patrick “Pat” Labat, Fulton County School Board District 4 candidate Franchesca Warren and State Representative House District 65 candidate Mandisha Thomas.