Politics
Politics

Runoff set for Georgia Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler’s seat

By Mark Niesse
May 22, 2024

The race for the DeKalb County seat held by Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler appears to be heading to a runoff between former Democratic state Rep. Randal Mangham and Iris Hamilton, a Democrat who works in health insurance.

Mangham and Hamilton will face off in a June 18 runoff after neither received more than one-third of votes in the five-person race, according to preliminary results.

Butler was the first Black woman to serve as Senate minority leader, chosen by her peers to the job in 2020. She has served in the Senate since 1998.

The winner of the Democratic runoff for Senate District 55 will compete against Republican Mary William Benefield in this fall’s general election. Benefield, who works in accounting services, didn’t face an opponent in the Republican primary.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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