Georgia Republicans rush to polls to cast early-voting runoff ballots

(CASEY SYKES / CASEY.SYKES@AJC.COM)

(CASEY SYKES / CASEY.SYKES@AJC.COM)

With no Democratic candidates in runoffs for Georgia’s top two political offices, Republican voters are vastly outpacing Democrats after the first six days of early voting for this month’s runoff.

Early voting began July 2 and lasts through July 20. The runoff will be held July 24.

Nearly 75 percent of the ballots cast were in the Republican runoff. A little less than one-fourth of the nearly 57,000 votes cast went to Democratic candidates, and only 396 ballots have been submitted for nonpartisan races.

The runoffs are required in Georgia for races in which no candidate won a majority in the May 22 primary.

Republicans still have to choose their nominees for governor and lieutenant governor.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp are vying for the Governor's Mansion while state Sen. David Shafer and former state Rep. Geoff Duncan hope to fill the state's second-highest office.

The Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and business executive Sarah Riggs Amico, respectively, were set in May’s primary.

On the Democratic side in the runoffs, voters are selecting candidates for Congress in metro Atlanta’s 6th and 7th districts. They’ll also decide the Democratic nominee for state school superintendent.

The early-voting figures include in-person advance voting and mailed-in ballots.

Early-voting locations and hours can be found online at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.

2018 campaign

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is covering the issues and candidates in a busy election year. Gun rights, immigration and tax policy were all issues that factored in the results of the Georgia primary, and they were all stories the AJC covered in the run-up to the vote. Look for more at PoliticallyGeorgia.com as the state approaches the next political milepost, the July 24 runoff.