100K votes still out in Atlanta alone
At least five House races are heading to runoffs. Four other House incumbents won their primaries, including Rep. John Lewis, who was nominated for an 18th term in Congress representing Atlanta.
Counties across Georgia were in the process of assessing what still remains to be counted, but an AP analysis based on absentee ballots requested and returned suggests there could be well over 100,000 votes remaining to be counted in the Atlanta metro area alone.
Voters also got their say in long-delayed presidential primaries, even though President Donald Trump and Joe Biden have wrapped up their parties’ respective nominations. Biden won Georgia’s primary, appearing alongside 11 other Democrats on ballots finalized months ago. Trump was the only choice on the Republican ballot.
Other races include:
6TH DISTRICT
Republican Karen Handel will get her rematch with Democrat Lucy Mcbath. Handel won a majority of votes and the GOP nomination Tuesday over Mykel Lynn Barthelemy, Blake Harbin, Joe Profit and Paulette Smith. Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, won a bloody special election over Ossoff in 2017, only to lose narrowly to Mcbath in 2018. The 6th District includes northern Fulton and Dekalb counties and eastern Cobb County. Mcbath faced no opponents for the Democratic nomination.
7TH DISTRICT
Both Republicans and Democrats had competitive primaries for the 7th District seat of GOP Rep. Rob Woodall, who isn’t seeking another term.
On the Republican side, Rich Mccormick beat state Sen. Renee Unterman and five other candidates to win the GOP nomination. Mccormick is backed by the free-trade, anti-regulation Club for Growth. Unterman emphasized her experience.
Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux was the top vote-getter for her party, but fell short of a majority. She’ll face state Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero in a runoff. If Bourdeaux wins, she’ll get another shot at the seat in parts of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties that she lost to Woodall by fewer than 500 votes in 2018.
9TH DISTRICT
State Rep. Matt Gurtler and Athens gun dealer Andrew Clyde advanced to a Republican runoff, outpacing seven other candidates for the 9th District seat being opened by Rep. Doug Collins, who chose to challenge Loeffler for Senate.
Gurtler has been an irritant to his party’s leaders, frequently voting against measures that almost all other lawmakers approved in the state House. He’s backed by the free-trade, low-tax Club for Growth, but criticized for speaking to American Patriots USA, which includes members with a history of white supremacy.
Clyde won a court challenge and helped win congressional restrictions on asset forfeiture after he had $940,00 seized in 2013 by the IRS.
Brooke Siskin and Devin Pandy advanced to the Democratic runoff in the northeast Georgia district, which has been one of the nation’s most reliably Republican seats.
13TH DISTRICT
Nine-term incumbent Democrat David Scott was threatened with a runoff by former state Rep. Keisha Sean Waites, who touted her credentials as an emergency manager and her bipartisan approach. Scott’s share of the vote expanded in counting Wednesday, meaning he may escape an additional Aug. 11 election by amassing a majority. Republicans in this metro-atlanta district chose business consultant Becky Hites over engineer Caesar Gonzales.
STATE SUPREME COURT
Incumbent Justice Sarah Warren beat Dougherty County prosecutor and former local judge Hal Moroz, while former state Rep. Beth Beskin lost to incumbent Justice Charlie Bethel.
PUBLIC SERVICE
COMMISSION
Environmental advocate Daniel Blackman beat energy efficiency consultant John Noel in the race for the Democratic nomination for the state Public Service Commission. Although the two must live in District 4, which covers northern and eastern parts of Georgia, the race was on the ballot statewide.