Several Georgia congressional primaries headed to runoffs

The winners will face off in a July 22 runoff for the heavily Republican 11th District, which covers all of Bartow and Cherokee counties, a large chunk of Cobb County and a smaller slice of Fulton County. Whoever prevails in the runoff will head to Washington, as no Democrats have qualified to get on the ballot.

Loudermilk said he succeeded with his message of “consistent conservatism,” adding his campaign had exceeded his own expectations. In March, his aides released the results of an internal poll showing him in a dead heat with Barr.

“We are ecstatic,” he said late Tuesday evening. “Our team deserved a big win just from the hard work they have put in. We are very excited.”

Also late Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson was preparing to declare victory against former DeKalb County Sheriff Tom Brown in the Democratic primary. Brown, also a former DeKalb public safety director, enjoys strong name recognition in the 4th District and ran a well-funded campaign against the four-term congressman, figuring he raised about $270,000. No Republicans have qualified to get on the November ballot, so whoever wins will head to Congress.

Brown was still stumping hard for votes Tuesday afternoon.

“I can’t think of anything else I could have done,” said Brown, who called Johnson a no-show in the district. “I have outworked him.”

Also on Tuesday, Brown’s campaign added a post to its Facebook page alleging President Barack Obama never endorsed Johnson in this election cycle. But the Johnson campaign forwarded The Atlanta Journal-Constitution an email from the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday showing Obama did indeed endorse Johnson.

“My opponent has in the final moments of this campaign stooped to outright lies, bizarrely and falsely claiming that I have not been endorsed by the president,” Johnson said in an email to supporters Tuesday. “That is a blatant lie, and it might be amusing if it weren’t so sad for Tom Brown.”

The other contested House primaries broke down this way:

1st District: Along the coast, the top three vote-getters in early returns for the GOP primary were state Sen. Buddy Carter of Pooler; surgeon Bob Johnson of Savannah; and John McCallum, an investment firm managing partner from St. Simons Island. Carter, who has been in public office for decades in the area, had the early head start on the race to replace U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston and soaked up money and establishment support. Johnson aimed for more of a tea party appeal and railed against Carter as "liberal" and too entrenched in the system in Atlanta. McCallum campaigned on his business experience, family roots in Georgia and his time working as a legislative aide to then-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Democratic primary appeared to be heading to a runoff, but the two participants were not yet decided as of press time. The district has a considerable Republican lean.

2nd District: Greg Duke, an optician, had a sizable lead over Vivian Childs, a former educator, in the Republican primary. The winner will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop in November. The district covers a huge chunk of southwest Georgia.

3rd District: In the GOP primary, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland was fending off a challenge from Chip Flanegan, a business owner. No Democrats have qualified to get on the ballot.

9th District: U.S. Rep. Doug Collins declared victory in the GOP primary early Tuesday evening against Bernard Fontaine, a retired Georgia National Guard brigadier general. The winner will face Democrat David Vogel, a retired educator, in the general election for the northeast Georgia district.

10th District: Minister and radio host Jody Hice of Monroe and Jackson trucking company executive Mike Collins were leading in early vote totals to face each other in the Republican runoff. Collins, the son of former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, had a financial advantage in the race to fill U.S. Rep. Paul Broun's seat — and pumped $150,000 of his own money into the race. Hice had the backing of tea party groups and the experience of narrowly missing the Republican nomination in 2010 for the 7th Congressional District. The winner faces Democrat Ken Dious, an Athens attorney, in November in the overwhelmingly Republican district.

12th District: Republican businessman Rick Allen of Augusta held a healthy lead over his four Republican opponents, hoping to avoid a runoff. The winner will face U.S. Rep. John Barrow, an Augusta Democrat, in the fall in Georgia's swing House district. Allen had a financial advantage and the experience of losing in the 2012 GOP primary runoff. He laid the groundwork for another run almost immediately after losing. Barrow did not have a primary challenger.

13th District: U.S. Rep. David Scott had a sizable lead over fellow Democrat Michael Owens, a Marine Corps veteran. No Republicans have qualified to get on the November ballot.

14th District: U.S. Rep. Tom Graves was heading to a convincing victory over retired businessman Ken Herron in the GOP primary. No Democrats have qualified to get on the November ballot.