Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will face a Democratic primary challenge and a Republican challenger in the 2024 election, both of whom aim to unseat Cobb’s first Black female chair.
Several other incumbent Democrats face primary challengers, including sheriff, district attorney and superior court clerk, all of which were flipped in 2020 during the ‘blue wave’ of Democratic leaders in Cobb. Commission Districts 2 and 4 are also up for election this year.
Qualifying week began Monday and ended Friday. But it was quickly overshadowed by the ongoing controversy with the commission district map.
Residents Reginald Copeland and Donald Barth tried to qualify for the District 2 commission race but were turned away because they do not live in that district under the current map that was redrawn by Democrats on the county commission and which was ruled to be unconstitutional by a judge earlier this year.
The county has appealed that ruling and oral arguments at the Georgia Supreme Court are scheduled for April 17.
Credit: Taylor Croft
Credit: Taylor Croft
Cupid will face primary challenger Shelia Edwards, who ran unsuccessfully for District 4 commissioner in 2020 and for the Public Service Commission. Republican realtor Kay Morgan is also running for the chair position, which is elected county-wide.
Richardson, the current District 2 commissioner, is running for U.S. Congress in District 6 against incumbent U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, along with Democrat state Rep. Mandisha Thomas and Republican businessman Jeff Criswell. That leaves the District 2 seat open to a new slate of candidates.
Five Democrats will face off in the May primary in District 2: former state Rep. Erick Allen, former Cobb school board member Jaha Howard, community advocate Kevin Redmon, law firm executive assistant Taniesha Whorton, and William Costa, who works in food and beverage manufacturing. Two Republicans, Alicia Adams and Pamela Reardon, are also running for the seat.
Democratic Commissioner Monique Sheffield faces a primary challenger for her District 4 seat, Yashica Marshall, an attorney who also ran for Mableton city council last year.
DA Flynn Broady faces Democratic primary challenger Sonya Allen, who is currently a deputy district attorney in Fulton County.
Sheriff Craig Owens faces a familiar Democratic primary challenger Gregory Gilstrap, who will mark his sixth run for the position this year. Three Republicans will face off for the sheriff position in the May primary: Antaney Hogan, who works in law enforcement; Cobb County police officer David Cavender; and former police officer Ricci Mason, who ran for commission chair in 2020.
Tax Commissioner Carla Jackson, who was originally elected as a Republican and later switched to Democrat, faces a primary challenge from Jan Becker, who used to work in the tax commissioner’s office before her retirement in 2021.
Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor is running for reelection against three primary challengers: Brunessa Drayton, who once worked in Cupid’s office and for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s office; Carole Melton, who works as a bailiff in Cobb County courts; and Nick Simpson, who also ran for the office in 2020. Deborah Dance, an attorney who used to work for Cobb County, is running for the position as a Republican.
During his campaign, Simpson has pointed to the controversy embroiling Taylor’s office ever since a 2022 AJC investigation reported she had taken home $425,000 in passport fees in personal income during her first term in office.
In the wake of the report, a whistleblower employee of the clerk’s office alleged Taylor ordered her to delete records involving the passport fees rather than fulfill an AJC request under the Georgia Open Records Act. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation then opened an investigation into her office, which is still ongoing as of Jan. 22 of this year. State lawmakers later proposed a bill to end the passport fee income practice altogether, although it lost traction and did not pass through the state Legislature.
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