There was no shortage of candidates in Fayette and County counties qualifying for the numerous elections for the May 24 primaries by the time qualifying period ended at noon on March 11.
One of the most shocking moments of the day was Rep. Virgil Fludd resigning from the Georgia House on the last day of qualifying. Qualified candidates for his post include Democrats Derrick Jackson, Kathy Adams and Terry Williamson.
Republicans qualifying for Lynn Westmoreland’s District 3 Congressional seat were Arnall “Rod” Thomas, Chip Flanegan, Drew Ferguson, Jim Pace, state Sen. Mike Crane, Richard Mix and Samuel Anders. The lone Democrat qualifying for the office was Tamarkus Cook.
Qualifiers for the District 72 state House seat of Rep. Matt Ramsey included James Clifton, Josh Bonner and Lisa Inagawa, all Republicans.
Both counties will see competition for one or more of the numerous seats up for election. Only the seats listed below have contested races.
In Fayette County:
Candidates for Superior Court Judge Mack Crawford’s seat include Crawford and Catherine Sanderson.
Candidates for Superior Court Judge Tommy Hankinson’s seat include Hankinson and Scott Ballard.
Candidates for district attorney include Republicans Cindy Manning, Ben Coker and Rudjard M. Hayes.
Candidates for the District 1 commission seat include incumbent David Barlow, Eric Maxwell, both Republicans, and Democrat Pam Reid.
District 2 candidates, all Republicans, include incumbent Randy Ognio and challengers Lee Hearn and Maggie Laton.
Candidates for the new at-large commission seat are all Republicans and include incumbent Chuck Oddo along with Don Haddix, Allen McCarty, Greg Clifton and Emory McHugh, III.
Candidates for sheriff include Republican incumbent Barry Babb and Republican challenger Christopher Stevers.
Candidates for coroner include Republicans Robbie G. Waits and W. Bee Huddleston.
Tax Commissioner candidates include Republican Kristie King and Democrat Rasheed “B.J.” Dawodu.
The Board of Education qualifiers for District 1 include incumbent Republican Barry Marchman and Democrat Melissa Lohr.
District 3 candidates include incumbent Republican Marion Key, Republican challenger Scott Hollowell and Democrat Angela Kelly Stowman.
The BOE at-large qualifier was Democrat Ching Ching Yap and Republicans Sue Stopford and Brian Anderson.
In Coweta County:
County Commission District qualifiers included incumbent Paul Poole, J.B. “Joey” Pendley and Gary DeGeorge, all Republicans.
Probate Judge candidates include incumbent Mary T. Cranford and Angela Munson.
Candidates for the non-partisan Board of Education District 2 seat include incumbent Sue Brown and Stan Roughton.
Qualifiers for the non-partisan Board of Education District 2 at-large seat include board member Frank Farmer, Ben Parsons, Hank Ashmore, John Stevenson, Loreli Scott, Monica Terrell and Sandra Haner.
The list of candidates was obtained at the close of the qualifying period and is believed to be inclusive of all those qualifying.
