Voters oust 8 incumbents in primaries

Four Republicans, four Democrats get unseated Tuesday.

Voters booted eight lawmakers from the Georgia General Assembly in Tuesday’s primary elections.

Four Republicans and four Democrats were ousted as voters chose new blood over experience.

The incumbents’ defeat contributes to election-year turnover at the Georgia Cap- itol, where Republicans hold almost two-thirds of the House and Senate.

An additional 20 seats will change hands because incumbents didn’t seek re-election, either because they resigned or ran for higher office. Here’s a look at the eight legislators who were voted out Tuesday:

■ Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, lost to Steven Sainz, the executive director of a community plan- ning agency. Spencer was the champion of a bill that would have allowed adult survivors of child sexual abuse more time to file lawsuits. The bill didn’t pass this year. There’s no Democrat running in the Nov.

■ Rep. 6 general Howard election. Mosby, D-Atlanta, was defeated by Becky Evans, the founder of the Druid Hills Athletic Association and an aide for state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta. Mosby is the chairman of the DeKalb County delegation to the Georgia House of Representatives. No Repub- lican qualified for the gen- eral election.

■ Rep. Johnnie Caldwell, R-Thomaston, fell short in his re-election bid against Ken Pullin, a state committee member of the Georgia Republican Party. Caldwell is a former judge who resigned from the bench following allegations he repeatedly harassed a female attorney. Pullin will face Democrat Chris Benton, who works in telecommunications, in the general election.

■ Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Tucker, lost to Sheikh Rahman, a rental property manager who grew up in Bangladesh and moved to the United States in 1981. No Republican is running in the general election.

■ Rep. John Deffenbaugh, R-Lookout Mountain, was defeated by Colton Moore, a 24-year-old University of Georgia graduate. There’s no Democratic Party candidate in the race.

■ Rep. Earnest “Coach” Williams, D-Avondale Estates, was beaten by Viola Davis, the founder of a DeKalb County advocacy group called Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter. No Republican candidate signed up in the race.

■ Rep. Dan Gasaway, R-Homer, lost to Chris Erwin, a business development director for a construction company. There’s no Democratic opposition in the general election.

■ Rep. Darrel Ealum, D-Albany, was defeated by CaMia Hopson, a technology professional. Hopson will face Republican Tracy Taylor, a firefighter who had run as a Democrat in previous elections.