Gwinnett commission chair and commissioners among handful of county races on May ballot
Gwinnett County races are official with a handful of candidates qualifying to run in May’s election.
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, Nicole Love Hendrickson, is running for another term. She has two Republican opponents: John Sabic and Justice Nwaigwe. Former State Rep. Donna McLeod is also challenging Hendrickson as the lone Democratic opponent.
Hendrickson was elected county commission in 2020 as the first Black person to be elected chair.
Current county commissioners, District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden and District 3 Commissioner Jasper Watkins III are also running for reelection.
Tim Le, a Republican businessman, is running against Carden for the District 1 commissioner seat. Republican, Bobby Howard and Democrat Marqus Cole, are taking on Watkins in District 3.
In the Sheriff’s race, there are three Republican candidates running against current sheriff Keybo Taylor. The candidates are: Baron Reinhold, Mike Baker and Oladipupo Soyomokun. Democratic candidates include Brian Whiteside, Curtis Clemons, Joseph Mark, and Shurron Green.
Taylor became Gwinnett’s first Black sheriff when he first won the post in 2020.
One Republican candidate, Arefeen Chowdhury, is running for Denise Mitchell’s county tax commissioner seat. Phillip Bonton III, a Democrat, is also challenging Mitchell for her seat.
Mitchell, a Democrat, is running for her first full term after she was appointed to the tax commissioner position in 2022. She was the county’s chief deputy tax commissioner until her predecessor, Tiffany Porter, died.
Four incumbent state court judges are running unopposed: Carla Brown, Emily Brantley, Jaletta Smith and Veronica Cope. Incumbent state court judge Shawn Bratton has one opponent, Ramona Sakhanokho.
Election 2024 includes two primaries
The 2024 election year will include two primaries for voters in metro Atlanta and Georgia. The presidential primary is set for March 12, one week after Super Tuesday primaries in a number of states.
The second primary in Georgia will be May 21 for candidates seeking state and local offices and U.S. Congress. The ballot will also include candidates for county commission and the Georgia Legislature, among others, and some local referendums.
Presidential primary information: Candidate Issues Guide | Where do I vote?
Here are key dates for the state and local primary:
- March 4-8: Candidates file paperwork to qualify for the primary. See an updated list of candidates who have submitted paperwork.
- March 4: The first date voters can request absentee ballots.
- April 22: Voter registration deadline.
- April 29: Early in-person voting begins.
- May 21: Election day for the state and local primary. Runoff date would be June 18.
Learn more: Follow state and congressional election news, and the presidential race, on our Politics page. News about city and county elections is on the Metro Atlanta page. Coverage and information will also be found in AJC print and ePaper editions.
About the Author
Jillian Price covers local news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is a graduate of Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the AJC in 2022 and mainly covers Gwinnett County cities.
