Crane to meet Ferguson in District 3 congressional runoff; incumbents Barlow, Key, Hankinson go down to defeat
UPDATED 12:40 a.m. — Final, complete Fayette vote tallies, all precincts plus early voting included in the numbers below.
In Fayette-only Republican races, incumbent Fayette County Commission Chairman Charles Oddo out-distanced four other challengers — including two former mayors and a former commissioner — to win the Republican Primary at-large seat without a runoff. Oddo has no Democrat opponent in the fall election.
Incumbent Commissioner Randy Ognio squeezed by his District 2 challenger, former Commissioner Lee Hearn of Brooks, by 28 votes out of 3,886 cast. A recount may be in store for that race.
Incumbent David Barlow lost his reelection bid to former Commissioner Eric Maxwell by 10 points in District 1. Maxwell will face Democrat Pam Reid in the November general election.
Incumbent Board of Education Chair Marion Key lost her race to Scott Hollowell by 75 votes in District 3. Hollowell will face Democrat A.K Stowman in November.
Brian Anderson won his first political race in School Board District 5 against Susan Stopford. Anderson beat Stopford by 19 points. He’ll face Democrat C.C. Yap in the fall general election.
In the multi-county district attorney’s contest, Assistant District Attorney Ben Coker of Upson County got 11,389 votes (46.7%) across the Griffin Judicial Circuit. Tyrone attorney Rudjard Hayes polled 6,809, carrying Fayette but getting blown out in Spalding, Pike and Upson. Fayette attorney Cindy Manning got 6,150 to come in third. Coker and Hayes will meet in the GOP runoff.
In the two contested nonpartisan superior court judges races, one incumbent won and one lost. Judge Mack Crawford turned back Fayette attorney Catherine Sanderson’s bid to unseat a sitting judge 20,140 votes (65%) to 11,047 (35%). District Attorney Scott Ballard gave up a safe reelection bid to run against a veteran sitting judge, Tommy Hankinson of Upson County. Ballard, a Fayette native,lost in the other three counties of the circuit but won big in Fayette, beating Hankinson 17,527 (55%) to 14,171 (45%). Ballard’s margin of victory came in vote-rich Fayette.
The race to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland will be decided in a runoff between dentist Drew Ferguson, the former mayor of West Point, and Coweta State Senator Mike Crane. The two were locked in a virtual tie Tuesday night at 27% each in balloting across 192 precincts that saw 57,099 votes cast for a field of seven candidates. Crane led Ferguson 15,343 votes to 15,277, a difference of 66 votes. Fayette Countian Jim Pace came in third with 13,198 votes (23%).
=====================================
UPDATED 10:30 p.m. — With 10 of 13 counties in the 3rd Congressional District reporting, Mike Crane has taken the lead (13,486 votes, 27.58%) over Drew Ferguson (12,940 votes, 26.46%) and Jim Pace (11,002 votes, 22.5%).
With 2 of 4 counties reporting in the DA race, it’s Coker at 9339 (50.46%); Hayes at 4767 (25.76%) and Manning at 4400 (23.78%).
With 2 of 4 counties reporting, for superior court judge, it’s Ballard at 12,927 (53.61%) and Hankinson at 11,187 (46.39%).
With 2 of 4 counties reporting, for superior court judge, it’s Crawford 15,813 (66.61%) and Sanderson at 7928 (33.39%).
UPDATED 10 p.m. — All Fayette votes are counted — except early voting in all but the ultra-close Ognio-Hearn contest. In that race, early voting is included, so that the Ognio-Hearn total is complete and final. Figures below show all other finals without early voting.
UPDATED 9:40 p.m. — 3rd District U.S. House race, with three of 13 counties reporting, Ferguson leads with 27%, while Crane and Pace are knotted at 24% each. Nearly 34,000 votes tallied in that race so far, with dentist and former West Point Mayor Ferguson at 9,229 votes ahead of Pace and Crane by about 900 votes each.
VOTE PERCENTAGES UPDATED 9:29 p.m.
UPDATED 9:20 p.m. — Vote count in Fayette seems to have slowed. GOP HQ talk was there was a glitch with state reporting site, John Thompson reports.
UPDATED 9:10 p.m. — Focusing on Griffin Judicial Circuit races (four counties: Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Upson). Looking iffy for Hayes down circuit. Coker pulling big numbers down there, Manning slightly ahead of Hayes in those counties.
Hankinson leads Ballard down circuit, while Crawford easily out-paces Sanderson down south at this early stage (mostly early voting tallies).
UPDATED 8:35 p.m. — From first tallies, looks like the clear winners are Sheriff Barry Babb and County Commission Chairman Charles Oddo. See vote below.
UPDATED 7:47 p.m. — No totals yet, but John Thompson reports from the nine tapes posted, Babb is winning “in a rout,” “looks like Oddo wins, Hearn–Ognio in a dogfight, Maxwell slight edge.”
UPDATED 7:38 p.m. — Early vote totals will be added in at the end of precinct tallies, John Thompson reports. Turnout for early voting very light: 5,200 out of 69,000 registered in Fayette.
===================================
ALL PRECINCTS COUNTED INCLUDING EARLY VOTING
U.S. Senate
Mary Kay Bacallao — 2652 20%
Derrick Grayson — 1026 8%
Johnny Isakson (I) — 9314 72%
3rd District U.S. Congress
Samuel Anders — 300 3%
Mike Crane — 2654 24%
Drew Ferguson — 1499 14%
Chip Flanegan — 1138 10%
Richard Mix — 573 5%
Jim Pace — 4529 42%
Arnall Rod Thomas — 160 1%
(Above are Fayette votes only.)
State Representative District 72
Josh Bonner — 3515 59%
James W. Clifton — 836 14%
Lisa Inagawa — 1587 27%
District Attorney
Ben Coker — 3039 25%
Rudjard M. Hayes — 4886 40%
Cindy Manning — 4240 35%
(Above are Fayette votes only.)
Sheriff
Barry Babb (I) — 11390 88%
Chris Stevers — 1531 12%
Coroner
Bee Huddleston — 9185 80%
Robbie G. Waits — 2353 20%
County Commission District 1
David Barlow (I) — 1382 45%
Eric Maxwell — 1684 55%
County Commission District 2
Lee Hearn — 1929 49.6%
Randy Ognio (I) — 1957 50.3%
(A victory margin of 28 votes.)
County Commission District 5 (at-large)
Greg Clifton — 2120 17%
Don Haddix — 983 8%
Allen McCarty — 2064 17%
Emory McHugh — 856 7%
Charles W. Oddo (I) — 6201 51%
Board of Education District 3
Scott Hollowell — 1692 51%
Marion Key (I) — 1617 49%
Board of Education District 5
Brian Anderson — 6635 59%
Susan Stopford — 4593 40%
Superior Court Judge (nonpartisan)
Mack Crawford (I) — 8693 55%
Catherine Sanderson — 7131 45%
(Above are Fayette votes only.)
Superior Court Judge (nonpartisan)
Scott Ballard — 10731 66%
Tommy Hankinson (I) — 5478 34%
(Above are Fayette votes only.)
Below, Precinct 24 comes in. Photo/John Thompson.
