Two candidates for the Clayton County Commission District 1 seat will meet again next month in a runoff while Joy Tellis Cooper appears to have prevailed as the next District 8 member of the south metro Atlanta community’s school board.

In unofficial results of Tuesday’s special election for District 1 County Commission, Alieka Anderson and Alaina Reaves received the largest share of votes. However, neither received the more than 50% of the vote required to avoid a runoff.

Anderson and Reaves were two of 10 candidates hoping to win the seat that become vacant earlier this year after the sudden death of Commissioner Sonna Singleton Gregory.

The runoff is set for Oct. 19.

Cooper received about 62% of the vote in her contest against Arvis Walker for the District 8 seat on the Clayton County Board of Education. The post became available after Anderson, the previous representative, declared her intention to run for County Commission.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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