Politics
Politics

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

By
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 covers 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.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

A poll worker walks out out the Israel Baptist Church in Kirkwood during the Georgia Public Service Commission’s special election for two of five seats June 17, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

2 Democrats face runoff in Georgia Public Service Commission primary

Following the June 17 primary elections for Georgia's Public Service Commission, District 3 Democratic candidates Waites and Hubbard head to a July runoff vote.

Republican Echols wins Georgia Public Service Commission primary as Democrats head for a runoff

Incumbent Tim Echols leads challenger in Public Service Commission primary

With no other major race on the ballot, turnout for the PSC races has been light. But the race could affect how much Georgians pay for their utility bills.

The Latest

President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House as seen on a television monitor in the James Brady Press Briefing Room, in Washington, Saturday, June 21, 2025, after the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Credit: AP

Georgia Republicans line up behind Trump’s Iran strikes — with one fiery MAGA exception

1h ago
LISTEN

Democratic candidate for governor vows to repeal Georgia’s abortion law

2h ago

Former Fox 5 reporter takes on incumbent in Lawrenceville City Council race

Featured

Apartment complex community members look at the stuffed animals, snacks and drinks that rest at the base of a basketball goal with balloons in memoriam of Ja’Nylen Greggs in Atlanta on Friday, June 20, 2025. The apartment complex community is mourning 12-year-old Greggs after he was killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

He went out to play. A drive-by shooting made him Atlanta’s youngest homicide this year.

An Atlanta neighborhood mourns a 12-year-old boy who died from gunfire.

‘You hope for peace’: Georgians grapple with fallout after Iran strike

Georgians and visitors to Atlanta interviewed Sunday in Buckhead expressed concerns about why President Trump ordered strikes on Iran and what will happen next.

Senate Republicans set up potential clash with House on ‘big, beautiful bill’

How does the Senate version of the tax and spending bill differ from the one that barely passed the house?