The Gist

Georgia heads to the 2022 general election in November with key matchups set for governor, attorney general and U.S. Senate following the results of Tuesday’s primary contests.

Runoffs are ahead in June for several key offices including secretary of state, lieutenant governor and the commissioners of the labor and insurance departments after top candidates failed to gain enough votes to win their primaries outright.

What’s Happening

Georgia voters turned out in record-breaking numbers to cast ballots in this year’s primaries, roughly doubling the votes cast in the 2018 statewide primaries. Turnout in the three-week early voting phase was nearly triple that of four years ago.

The marquee race was for Georgia governor, a seat held by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. He will face his 2018 Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams on November 8 after trouncing his primary Republican challenger, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, by more than 600,000 votes.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams rallies with supporters in Atlanta on May 24, 2022. (Credit: Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon for State Affairs)

Also closely watched was the race for secretary of state, which oversees Georgia’s elections. Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger secured the 50% margin needed to avoid a runoff with Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Greensboro).

Wins for Kemp and Raffensperger marked a resounding defeat for candidates backed by former President Donald Trump, who has warred against Georgia’s governor and secretary of state for refusing to use their offices to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Less clear in Tuesday’s primary is the outcome of the race to replace Republican Lt. Gov Geoff Duncan. State Sen. Burt Jones eyed an outright win in the Republican primary over Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller – but it was too close to call early Wednesday.

Primary runoff elections in Georgia are set to be held on June 21.

The Results

(Note: 95% of precincts have reported their vote counts as of Wednesday morning.)

Top Georgia offices including governor, secretary of state and attorney general have candidate matchups set for the November 8 general election. (Credit: Brittney Phan for State Affairs)

 

Runoffs are ahead for several statewide offices including lieutenant governor and secretary of state. (Credit: Brittney Phan for State Affairs)

Other Winners & Runoffs

Several candidates for lower statewide offices won their primaries outright on Tuesday.

Republican incumbent State School Superintendent Richard Woods will face Democratic nominee Alisha Thomas Searcey. State Sen. Tyler Harper, the Republican nominee for agriculture commissioner, will face Democratic nominee Nakita Hemingway.

Democratic primary runoffs will be held for labor and insurance commissioners.

Georgia House Minority Whip William Boddie Jr. and candidate Nicole Horn, both Democrats, will compete for the Democratic nomination for labor commissioner, facing Republican nominee state Sen. Bruce Thompson in June.

Democratic insurance commissioner candidates Janice Laws Robinson and Raphael Baker head to a runoff to decide who will compete against Republican incumbent Insurance Commissioner John King.

What’s Next?

Georgia’s primary runoffs will be held on June 21, with early voting scheduled to start no later than June 13. Voters must already be registered to vote as of May 23.

If there’s a runoff, you’re required to vote with the same party’s ballot during the runoff as you voted in the primary. (If you voted non-partisan or didn’t vote in the primary, you can still vote in the runoff.)

The general election will be held on November 8. Early voting starts on October 17. The last day to register to vote is October 11.

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