Battles rage in primary elections

The contests being decided now will determine party nominees for the general election this fall.

They’re on opposing sides in the May 22 elections, but Colt Chambers and Ruth Demeter agree on one thing: Voting in the primary matters.

“It’s the opportunity to have your voice heard the most,” said Chambers, who chairs the Rome Young Republicans and was just elected at the state conference last week to lead the Georgia YRs.

“A lot of people want to wait until the general election and sit the primary out, but — especially in Georgia where the winner is whoever has the “R” after their name — the general election is the end of the road for a race,” Chambers added.

The “R” is not a sure thing this year, according to Demeter, chair of the Floyd County Democratic Party. And that underscores the importance of voting in the primary, she said.

“Georgia’s been very complacent, but this time the primary is pretty loaded for Democrats. Since 2016, I think people are very … woke,” Demeter said with a laugh. “They’re realizing they have an obligation to pay attention.”

Advance voting began last week and, so far, just under 500 of the county’s 50,787 registered voters have cast ballots, according to Elections Supervisor Willie Green.

Universal precincts are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week at the County Administration Building, 12 E. Fourth Ave., and Garden Lakes Baptist Church, 2200 Redmond Circle. The administration building also will be open for voting this Saturday.

Voters in the primary must choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot, since the election is to name party nominees for the Nov. 6 general election. A nonpartisan ballot listing only the judge races also is available, but those races are also on the party ballots.

“That’s another terrific reason to vote now,” Chambers said. “On May 22 the judicial races will be over. They don’t go on to the ballot in November.”

Demeter, a naturalized U.S. citizen, said her native Canada doesn’t have party primaries.

“I may be more passionate about it than American citizens because I had to fight to have a vote,” she said. “I come from a country where the parties already had their candidates. The process is much more opaque.”

Many match-ups

Locally, the only contested race is between attorneys Emily Matson and Kay Ann Wetherington for the Superior Court judge seat being vacated by Chief Judge Tami Colston.

But there are more than a dozen match-ups — including a contested Court of Appeals race — for statewide positions. Governor, lieutenant governor and state school superintendent are among them.

Chambers said he’s hearing a lot of buzz about the insurance commissioner race and seeing a surprising number of signs for the candidates on his travels around the state.

“But I’m most concerned about the secretary of state race,” he said. “We have four great candidates and any one would be good — after the inevitable runoff — but I think the Democrats are really targeting that. They want the highest office but I think their approach is to focus on a lower position and work their way up.”

Demeter mentioned secretary of state as one of the five big contests for Democrats, along with governor and lieutenant governor.

But she also cited the two seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates electric and gas utilities and, to some extent, telecommunications. New technology, Demeter said, calls for new ways of thinking.

“We have an opportunity to create a PSC that represents our population,” she said. “It’s historically been made up of members of the same gender, race and age-group. The Democratic candidates bring not only a perspective for change, but experience in making change happen.”

Democrats also have a contest in the labor commissioner race, for a nominee to go up against incumbent Republican Mark Butler in the fall.

Voters can check their registration and see personalized sample ballots online at the Georgia My Voter website.