Augusta votes out incumbent, selects new mayor in runoff election

• Steven Kendrick defeated incumbent Garnett Johnson to become the new mayor of Augusta.
• Evett Williams won the nonpartisan runoff for the District 8 seat on the Augusta Commission.
• Alex Griffin secured the Republican nomination for the District 1 seat on Columbia County’s Board of Commissioners.

Augusta will have a new mayor.

Steven Kendrick, a local blueprint company owner whose civic involvement includes more than 13 years leading Richmond County’s tax office, defeated incumbent Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson on Tuesday in a nonpartisan runoff election.

With all 65 Richmond County precincts reporting, Kendrick received 14,651 or 54.27% of the vote to Johnson’s 12,347 or 45.73% of the vote.

More: Georgia primary runoff vote totals for Richmond, Columbia counties

In the nonpartisan runoff for the District 8 seat on the Augusta Commission, Evett Williams defeated Michael Cioffi, 2,174 votes (52.61%) to 1,958 (47.39%).

In the Republican runoff for the District 1 seat on Columbia County’s Board of Commissioners, Alex Griffin beat Bobby Timmerman, 2,778 votes to 1,875 (59.7% to 40.2%).

In the nonpartisan runoff for the District 2 seat on the Columbia County Board of Education, Tiffany Heitzman drew 2,768 votes (60.7%) over Deborah Williams’ 1,790 (39.2%).

In the Georgia governor’s Republican runoff, Richmond County voted for billionaire health-care executive Rick Jackson with 4,284 votes (53.67%) over Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones with 3,698 votes (46.33%). In Columbia County, Jones got 51.1% of the vote with 7,283 votes over Jackson’s 48.8% with 6,959 votes.

In the Republican runoff to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate, Richmond County chose U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, 4,379 votes or 55.91%, over former football coach Derek Dooley, 3,453 or 44.09%. In Columbia County, Collins’ 63.2% of the vote, 8,913, beat Dooley’s 36.7%, 5,171. Collins will face Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the November general election.