Incumbents Penson, Richardson, Dempsey all winners in primary
♦ Several office holders will face Democrat opposition in November’s general election.
Floyd County Clerk of Superior Court Barbara Penson will move on to the general election in November after surviving what she referred to as a “brutal” Republican primary with Joe Costolnick.
When the final absentee ballots were tabulated early Thursday morning, Penson brought in 8,238 votes to Costolnick’s 6,118. Democrat Moriah Medina will challenge the incumbent Penson in the fall general election.
“It’s been very raw and brutal,” Penson said. “It takes a lot of courage and an ounce of insanity to run — for somebody to get into politics and run for office.”
Penson said the job of Superior Court clerk means that many people they deal with are in a difficult time in their lives and she has made every effort to treat everyone with courtesy and respect.
Running her campaign while trying to run the office from home during the COVID-19 pandemic — which hit the Floyd County Courthouse in the last two weeks — has been particularly challenging. However, Penson said she was ready “to hit the ground running” for the fall general election campaign.
In a statement to the Rome News-tribune, Costolnick congratulated Penson, as well as all the other primary election candidates, commending their commitment to service to Floyd County.
“I commend each of you, and wish you the best moving forward as you continue to work for the people within our great community,” he said. “I would like to say thank you to everyone that supported me throughout this election. There are so many people that donated their time, their money, and their talents to this campaign, and I will forever be indebted to them for trusting in me, and having faith in me, as a leader. I want to say thank you to my wife, Emily, for her continued support throughout
this campaign, and to my friend and running mate, Whitney Downs, for her dedication to Floyd County, it’s service agencies, and the people that we work alongside each and every day. Your support and friendship has been amazing. I am proud to be a part of this team, and for the work that we accomplished together.”
Costolnick said although this was not the outcome he had hoped for, he was honored to have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and was blessed to live in a town full of citizens who cared about their friends and neighbors.
“Best wishes to all of our leaders, and thank you for your dedication and devotion to Floyd County,” he said.
Incumbent Magistrate Judge W. Gene Richardson will also go back into the courthouse, COVID-19 permitting, after a strong win over challenger Justin Hight. Richardson received 12,239 votes to Hight’s 6,845 in the nonpartisan election
Richardson said feels blessed to have been able to run without opposition in the past, but is so grateful to the people of the county for their support.
“I learned that if you treat people right, treat people with respect and do it professionally, the people of Floyd County will respect and honor that,” Richardson said.
Republican state Rep. Katie Dempsey outdistanced Brad Barnes to win her eighth term in the Georgia House of Representatives. There is no Democratic candidate in November.
Dempsey received 5,594 votes to Barnes 1,280. She has served in the state House since January of 2007.
Her fellow delegate, Rep. Mitchell Scoggins, R-cartersville, will also go back to Atlanta next year without opposition in the fall.
House District 12 member Eddie Lumsden will be challenged by Democrat Jonathan Gilreath-harvey and Rome Sen. Chuck Hufstetler will be challenged by Democrat Charles Deyoung in the general election.
The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote in that election is Oct. 6. Early voting will begin Oct. 12 with a mandatory Saturday voting date set for Oct. 24.