Qualifying ends for May election

Qualification ended Friday at noon for the May election, both in Gordon County and statewide.

As of the end of the day on Thursday, several candidates had qualified for different positions.

For tax commissioner, incumbent Scott Clements qualified. For sheriff, incumbent Mitch Ralston and challengers Rodney Curtis and Chris Brown qualified. For clerk of Superior Court, incumbent Grant Walraven qualified.

Nick Blalock and Ryan Holden both qualified for coroner. Incumbent James Patrick Rasbury qualified for Magistrate Court judge.

For County Commission, all three incumbents qualified, Bud Owens for District 1, Randy Abernathy for District 3, and Kevin Cunningham for District 5.

Gordon County Board of Education Post 2 had not yet seen anyone qualify; Jason Hendrix is the incumbent for that position but has not yet qualified. For Post 4, incumbent Bobby Hall qualified as well as a challenger, Rod Brehm. For Post 6, incumbent Christie Fox qualified.

All of those candidates qualified as Republicans. Judge of Probate Court, which is a nonpartisan election, had incumbent John R. “Richie” Parker qualify.

As for statewide positions, the 11th Congressional District’s incumbent Republican Barry Loudermilk has qualified for the election. Also on the ballot is Antonio Daza, a business owner from Woodstock running on the Democratic ticket, and Mike Pons of Woodstock, challenging for the Republican nomination.

Details on any candidates who qualified Friday were not available by press time. For more information on the ongoing election cycle, visit CalhounTimes.com online.