The story has been updated to include the Habersham County qualifiers and White County Sheriff candidate Robert Morin.
Qualifying for the May Primary ended Friday at noon. All counties in the northeast Georgia region have at least one contested party race. Some counties have several contested primary races that may result in run-offs due to the number of candidates.
State races are not listed in the summaries below. Also, candidates that qualified as independents are not listed. Those candidates will not be on the May Primary ballot. They will face a Republican or Democrat challenger or possibly both in November during the General Election.
ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY
Athens-Clarke County has 17 races this May Primary. Ten of those races are uncontested. Seven races are contested, including the Sheriff’s seat. A couple of the contested races could result in run-offs.
Athens-Clarke County is the only county in the northeast Georgia region to not have any Republicans qualify.
BANKS COUNTY
Banks County will have 13 races during the May Primary. Eight of those races are uncontested. The Chairman’s seat on the County Commission is contested, along with the Probate Judge and three seats on the Board of Education.
ELBERT COUNTY
Elbert County will have 11 races in the May Primary. Eight of those are uncontested, with incumbents returning for another term. Three races are contested, including three Democrats running for Sheriff. That race may end in a run-off. Whoever wins that contest, will face a Republican challenger in November.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Franklin County has 11 races going into the May Primary. Five of those races are uncontested. The six remaining contested races could end in a run-off for five of those contests. The Sheriff’s seat has four challengers. The Chief Magistrate Judge has three candidates vying for that seat. The County Commission Chairperson has four candidates running for that seat, which will surely result in a run-off.
The same situation exists for County Commission District 1. There are five candidates running for that seat and are destined for a run-off after the May Primary. County Commission District 2 has three candidates running that may end in a run-off as well.
HABERSHAM COUNTY
Habersham County has 13 races going into the May Primary. Eight of those races are uncontested. One seat that was uncontested was for Sheriff. In the past, that seat has had numerous candidates qualify during the primary season.
The five contested races are for those seats that are on the County Commission and Board of Education.
Two of the County Commission seats has the potential with being decided in a run-off. Incumbent and current Chairman of the County Commission Ty Akins has two candidates running for his seat in District 5. The same is true for the County Commission District 1 seat where incumbent Bruce Palmer will face two candidates going into the May Primary.
Both Board of Education incumbents are facing opposition. The races are for District 1 and District 2. Dr. Robert Barron is running for his fifth term and will run against retired educator Ernie Garrett for District 2. Doug Westmoreland will face challenger and political newcomer Brett Barden.
HALL COUNTY
Hall County has 16 races going into the May Primary with only four of those races being contested. The four contested races are for Sheriff, County Commission Chair, a State Court Judge seat, and the Clerk of Court. The County Commission Chair and State Court Judge seats have the potential to end in a run-off.
Incumbent Sheriff Gerald Couch will have to face a Republican challenger in May. Should he win, he will face a Democrat challenger in November.
HART COUNTY
Hart County has 13 races going into the May Primary with only three of those races being contested. Those seats are for Chief Magistrate Judge, County Commission District 5, and Board of Education District 3. The only seat that has the potential to end in a run-off is for County Commission District 5 where there are 3 candidates running. The other two seats will be decided in May.
RABUN COUNTY
Rabun County has 14 races going into the May Primary with only five of those being contested races. Those contested races are for Sheriff, Clerk of Court, County Commission Post 1, County Commission Post 2, and the Blue Ridge Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor.
The only seat with the potential to be decided in a run-off is for Sheriff, where two candidates are challenging incumbent Chad Nichols.
The County Commission Post 1 will be decided in May between the two Republican candidates. However, whoever the winner is will face a Democrat challenger in November.
STEPHENS COUNTY
Stephens County has 13 races going into the May Primary with only three of those races contested. Those three contests are for Sheriff, Probate Judge, and County Commission Post 3. The Sheriff’s contest has the potential to end in a run-off as does the County Commission Post 3. Both contests have three candidates running.
Whoever wins the Republican primary for the County Commission Post 3 seat will face a Democratic challenger in November.
WHITE COUNTY
White County has 13 races going into the May Primary with only three of those races contested. All three contested races are for county commission seats. The County Commission Chairperson, County Commission District 1, and County Commission District 4 each have a single challenger. Those Republican races will be decided in May.
