Voters in cities across Georgia will choose candidates in runoff elections Tuesday, as well as fill a vacancy in a southwest Georgia state House seat.
A runoff election for mayor in Savannah headlines the municipal races, with Alderman Van Johnson seeking to unseat incumbent Eddie DeLoach.
Voters in Valdosta will be choosing a new mayor, with former fire chief J.D. Rice going up against talk show host Scott James Matheson. In Albany, incumbent Mayor Dorothy Hubbard seeks a third term against lawyer Kermit “Bo” Dorough.
In metro Atlanta, voters will settle mayor’s races in College Park, Doraville, Morrow and Smyrna.
Municipal elections in Georgia are officially nonpartisan, although candidates’ party affiliations are sometimes well known. The Georgia Democratic Party has said it’s working to help Johnson in Savannah and Rice in Valdosta.
In Savannah, DeLoach says he has improved public safety and worked to improve infrastructure and reduce poverty in his first term as mayor. Johnson, though, says DeLoach has tilted too much toward businesses and touts his 16 years of experience in city government.
In southwest Georgia, voters in House District 152 will choose between two Republicans, Leesburg Mayor Jim Quinn and Sylvester Mayor Bill Yearta, to fill the remainder of Ed Rynders’ two-year term. Rynders resigned from the seat, which covers Lee and Worth counties and part of Sumter County.