How Coweta Voted: Dakota Caldwell Wins Republican Nomination for County Commission District 3

CPA Dakota Caldwell won the Republican nomination for Coweta County Commission District 3 on Tuesday night, defeating former educator Tim Ryan 56.15% to 43.85% in one of the county’s most closely watched local races of the election cycle.

With all six precincts reporting, Caldwell received 2,126 votes to Ryan’s 1,660. She will advance to the November general election, where she will face Democratic nominee Dr. Render Godfrey, a church pastor.

The race attracted unusual public attention for a county commission runoff. Ryan built a following among some voters through his outspoken opposition to proposed data center developments in Coweta County. At the same time, his candidacy became the subject of months of reporting by The Citizen. During the campaign, records obtained from multiple school districts documented student complaints and disciplinary actions related to Ryan’s work as a substitute teacher and educator. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission has also confirmed an open ethics case involving Ryan.

While the countywide result showed a comfortable Caldwell victory, the precinct-level results told a more nuanced story.

Ryan carried two of the district’s six precincts. His strongest performance came at Newnan Centre, where he received 57.76% of the vote to Caldwell’s 42.24%. He also narrowly edged Caldwell at Madras, the district’s largest voting precinct, by just eight votes, 1,096 to 1,088.

Caldwell, however, won the remaining four precincts and did so by substantial margins. She carried Panther Creek with 56.41% of the vote, Greentop with 60.93%, and Northside with 65.02%. Her strongest showing came at Expo Center, where she captured 78.16% of the vote.

Those margins proved decisive. Although Ryan remained competitive in Newnan Centre and Madras, Caldwell’s dominant performances elsewhere built a countywide lead that could not be overcome.

Tuesday’s results also highlighted Coweta’s Republican lean. Republicans cast 15,475 ballots in the Governor runoff, compared with 2,699 ballots cast in the Democratic Lieutenant Governor runoff. The Republican turnout was nearly six times larger than the Democratic turnout, underscoring the GOP’s continued electoral advantage in the county.

The local runoff was one of several races decided Tuesday as Georgia voters selected nominees for November contests across the state.

Coweta Republicans generally voted in line with Republican voters statewide, though several races revealed subtle differences.

In the Republican race for Governor, Coweta voters gave Rick Jackson a stronger victory than he received statewide. Jackson won 55.59% of the vote in Coweta compared with 52.63% statewide.

A similar pattern emerged in the race for Lieutenant Governor. Greg Dolezal received 57.42% of the vote in Coweta while winning 54.20% statewide.

The closest statewide Republican contest on Coweta ballots was the race for U.S. Senate. Mike Collins defeated Derek Dooley both in Coweta and across Georgia, but Dooley ran noticeably stronger locally. Collins won Coweta with 51.26% of the vote compared with 55.65% statewide.

Republican voters in Coweta closely mirrored the rest of Georgia in the Secretary of State runoff, where Tim Fleming won 65.14% of the county vote and 64.51% statewide.

In the race for State School Superintendent, incumbent Richard Woods prevailed with 53.64% in Coweta compared with 51.50% statewide. Josh Tolbert carried Coweta with 57.53% in the Public Service Commission District 5 runoff, slightly below his statewide showing of 59.75%.

Among Democratic voters, Josh McLaurin narrowly won Coweta’s Lieutenant Governor runoff by less than a percentage point, 50.28% to 49.72%, while posting a more comfortable statewide victory with 54.94%.

Penny Brown Reynolds won the Democratic Secretary of State runoff in both Coweta and statewide results, while Keisha Sean Waites captured the Democratic nomination for Insurance Commissioner. Nikki Porcher won the Democratic runoff for Labor Commissioner.

With Tuesday’s runoffs complete, the focus now shifts to November, when Coweta voters will choose between the nominees selected during the primary season and determine representation in local and statewide offices.