Statewide down-ballot, congressional fields to be set after Tuesday’s runoff

Helen Goodwin puts her sticker on with the help of her daughter Mary Goodwin after casting her ballot during the first day of early voting June 13 in DeKalb County. Miguel Martinez / miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Helen Goodwin puts her sticker on with the help of her daughter Mary Goodwin after casting her ballot during the first day of early voting June 13 in DeKalb County. Miguel Martinez / miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Georgia’s Democratic voters will head back to the polls Tuesday for runoff elections where they’ll select candidates in four statewide down-ballot races.

Republican voters selected their party nominees in all statewide elections in last month’s primary without needing a runoff.

Voters across the state will also be voting in a few U.S. congressional election runoffs and about a dozen legislative races. Several local runoff elections will also be held, with some DeKalb County voters heading to the polls again in what was an already eventful local County Commission race.

Georgia is one of 10 states that require a runoff after a primary if no candidate wins over 50% of the vote, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In most of the rest of the country, the candidates with the most votes win, even if they receive less than a majority.

Here are some of the races with runoff elections on Tuesday.

About the runoff for Democrats

Lieutenant governor: Attorney Charlie Bailey and former U.S. Rep. Kwanza Hall are in the runoff for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. The field was narrowed from nine candidates last month, when Hall received the most votes and Bailey finished second.

Secretary of state: Former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler and state Rep. Bee Nguyen are facing off in the runoff election for secretary of state, which was narrowed down from five candidates. Nguyen received the most votes last month, and Dawkins-Haigler secured her spot in the runoff with a second-place finish.

Insurance commissioner: Raphael Baker and Janice Laws Robinson will be in Tuesday’s runoff election for insurance commissioner. Robinson, who was the Democratic nominee for the same office four years ago, finished just 1.7 percentage points short of reaching the 50% threshold last month to avoid a runoff.

Labor commissioner: State Rep. William Boddie and Nicole Horn are in the runoff race for labor commissioner. Boddie received the most votes in the five-person race, securing nearly 28% of the votes cast, but Horn was just 2.5 percentage points behind him.

U.S. House District 1, southeast Georgia: Political newcomer Wade Herring and two-time Democratic nominee Joyce Marie Griggs will face off on Tuesday. Griggs received the most votes last month, pulling in nearly 49% of the vote in the three-person race.

U.S. House District 10, east of Atlanta: Tabitha Johnson-Green, a nurse who was the Democratic nominee for the same seat two years ago, will face Jessica Allison Fore in Tuesday’s runoff. Johnson-Green was the leading vote-getter in last month’s five-person race.

DeKalb County Commission District 2: Political newcomers Lauren Alexander and Michelle Long Spears are vying to represent District 2 after a three-way primary that saw a bounty of voting machine programming mishaps, erroneous initial results and, ultimately, a hand recount that turned those results on their head.

About the runoff for Republicans

U.S. House District 2, southwest Georgia: Republicans Jeremy Hunt and Chris West emerged from the six-way primary election last month as they face off Tuesday to be the one to challenge longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop in the general election. Hunt was the top vote-getter last month.

U.S. House District 6, north metro Atlanta: Attorney Jake Evans and emergency room physician Rich McCormick are on the runoff ballot. McCormick, who received the most votes in last month’s primary election, was the GOP nominee for another seat in 2020 and narrowly lost the general election.

U.S. House District 7, most of Gwinnett County, some of Fulton County: Michael Corbin and Mark Gonsalves will go head-to-head in Tuesday’s runoff election. The two emerged from a five-person primary last month, with Corbin receiving the most votes. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the general election for the Democratic-leanings seat.

U.S. House District 10, east of Atlanta: Trucking company owner Mike Collins and former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones are on the ballot in the Republican runoff election for the 10th Congressional District. Collins received the most votes in the eight-way race, with Jones, who’s been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, coming in second.