Georgia

Early in-person voting begins ahead of Georgia's May 21 primary and judicial elections

Published

2 weeks ago

April 29, 2024

Early in-person voting begins ahead of Georgia's May 21 primary and judicial elections

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia voters are beginning to have their say on party primary races and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Three weeks of early in-person voting is set to begin Monday ahead of the May 21 election, when parties will choose their nominees for congressional and state legislative seats, as well as for local races including sheriffs, district attorneys and county commissioners.

May 21 also is the general election for judicial candidates, who run on a nonpartisan basis.

Mail-in ballots were sent last week to those who had requested them, while people can continue to request a mail ballot through May 10.

Among the top races are a state supreme court race between incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson and challenger John Barrow and primaries in the 3rd Congressional District, where incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson is stepping down.

Runoffs will be held June 18 in races where candidates don’t win a majority in May.

Here’s a look at the election and some top races:

CONGRESSIONAL SHOWDOWN

Six Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to succeed Ferguson in a district that runs along the Alabama border from Carrollton to Columbus and swings east into the Atlanta suburbs around Peachtree City and Fayetteville.

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed his onetime aide Brian Jack for the seat. Also seeking the nomination are former state Sens. Mike Crane and Mike Dugan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton, Jim Bennett and Ray Blair.

On the Democratic side, Val Almonord and Maura Keller are seeking their party’s nomination in the heavily GOP district.

STATE SUPREME COURT

The May 21 vote is the general election for judicial candidates, who run without party labels.

Incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, is trying to win a six-year term. He is opposed by John Barrow, a former Democratic congressman. Barrow says he believes Georgians have a right to abortion under the state constitution, while Pinson says it’s inappropriate for him to talk about issues and important not to make the race partisan.

Justices Michael Boggs, John Ellington and Nels Peterson are unopposed. Six judges on the Georgia Court of Appeals are also unopposed, while Jeff Davis and Tabitha Ponder are contending for an open seat on that intermediate court of appeal.

OTHER CONGRESSIONAL RACES

Incumbent U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and David Scott, both Democrats, face challengers from their own party in redrawn districts.

Scott faces six challengers in the 13th District in Atlanta’s southern and eastern suburbs. They include former East Point City Council member Karen René, former South Fulton City Council member Mark Baker and attorney Brian Johnson. On the Republican side, Jonathan Chavez is running against Johsie Fletcher.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath has jumped from the 7th District to run in the 6th District, on the western side of metro Atlanta. She’s being challenged by fellow Democrats Mandisha Thomas, a state representative, and Jerica Richardson, a Cobb County commissioner.

LOCAL RACES

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, in the national spotlight for her prosecution of former President Trump and others, faces attorney Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding in the same case, is being challenged by lawyer and talk show host Robert Patillo. Lawyer Tiffani Johnson was disqualified from challenging McAfee.

WHAT WILL TURNOUT BE LIKE?

While 5 million or more Georgians could vote in November’s presidential election, history suggests many fewer people will vote in the primary.

In 2016, the last time the state primaries didn’t coincide with the presidential primary, only one-fifth as many people voted in May as in the presidential general election in November. With few hotly contested congressional primaries, races for county offices may be what bring voters to the polls in some parts of Georgia.

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Georgia

Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force hosts 24th annual Housing Conference

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force hosts 24th annual Housing Conference

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – On Tuesday, potential homebuyers, landlords and renters came together in Albany to navigate the challenges of affordable housing availability.

It was part of the Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force’s 24th annual housing conference. A panel of experts covered key topics such as building and developing new housing and finding resources for repairing homes. These are projects that are happening year-round.

“The areas that we deal with it may be the grant writing, it may be with dealing with developers, it may be with first-time home buyers, it may be with rental, it may be with fair housing or something in the area of what the need is. We really work to understand the need and meet the need,” said Patricia Fletcher-Edwards, branch manager of the NID Housing Council Agency.

Edwards says it has become even more critical to have these roundtable discussions in this climate of affordable housing.

To find out more about the Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force click here.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

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Georgia

Georgia Tech Baseball Included In On3 Sports Latest Field of 64 Projections

Published

10 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Tech Baseball Included In On3 Sports Latest Field of 64 Projections

After being on the outside looking in in last week’s Field of 64 Projections by On3Sports Jonathan Wagner, Georgia Tech is back in the field after winning a series vs No. 9 Duke.

It was a much-needed series win vs the Blue Devils. After losing last week’s series vs Clemson and then a midweek game to Auburn, the Yellow Jackets needed to get a series victory vs Duke. The top seed in their projected region was Mississippi State and the other teams in the region included Dallas Baptist. Right now, Mississippi State sits at No. 16 in RPI, Dallas Baptist at No. 21, and Lamar at No. 63. The Yellow Jackets are currently at 49th.

Of all the regions that Georgia Tech could be in, this is one that is winnable. Mississippi State and Dallas Baptist are really good teams, but Georgia Tech could beat them. It has been some time since the Yellow Jackets have been able to make it out of a regional, but this would be a solid opportunity for them if this were to be the scenario they find themselves in.

Georgia Tech had their game vs Mercer canceled today, but that is not the worst thing in the world. Mercer is a low RPI team and beating them would not have done the Yellow Jackets a big service. A loss could have been damaging though.

The final weekend of the regular season is here and Georgia Tech is going to have another chance to boost their resume against No. 10 Florida State. With a series win here, the Yellow Jackets might have a firm grip on a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Florida State is going to be a really tough opponent however and the series is going to be on the road. It is a really big weekend for Danny Hall’s team.

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Georgia

Are Georgia football and Ohio State inevitable? Why you can’t ignore a few underdogs

Published

17 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

Are Georgia football and Ohio State inevitable? Why you can’t ignore a few underdogs

Georgia football doesn’t present as having much weakness, but Bulldogs’ schedule is loaded with Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
Ohio State boasts an impressive roster, but Buckeyes will transition to new starting quarterback Will Howard.
Will Georgia even win the SEC? Texas’ arrival makes the conference even tougher.

Either Georgia or Ohio State will be preseason No. 1. But just how heavily are those teams favored to win the national championship?

The SEC will be even more of a juggernaut than usual, following the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. Georgia’s schedule will include games against Clemson, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. That’s a rugged road before the playoff arrives. Ohio State is loaded but will transition to a new starting quarterback.

On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams consider this question: If you were predicting the national champion and could either take Georgia and Ohio State or the field, which would you choose?

It’s a tough question, because Georgia and Ohio State are deserving frontrunners, but navigating a 12-team playoff presents more potential pitfalls.

TOPPMEYER: Why 12-team College Football Playoff is blessing, curse for Tennessee, Florida, LSU

ADAMS: Looking for a college football dark horse? I’ve got one.

Here’s the analysis:

Toppmeyer: I’d take Georgia and Ohio State. Although I think as many as about 30 teams could be considered preseason playoff hopefuls, I only consider six to be serious national championship contenders: Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Ole Miss and Alabama. My top three champion picks would be Georgia, Texas and Ohio State. So, if you’re giving me two of those three, I’m taking that duo over the field. Georgia lacks an obvious weakness. Ohio State will have a new quarterback, but starter Will Howard previously played well for Kansas State. If the Buckeyes are hitting their stride behind Howard come postseason, they’re plenty loaded elsewhere. I’d feel more confident in this pick if I could have Georgia and Texas rather than Georgia and Ohio State, but as long as I’m getting Georgia and another top-tier team, I’m taking that over the field.

[ WANT MORE OPINIONS FROM TOPPMEYER AND ADAMS? Sign up for the SEC Unfiltered newsletter for exclusive columns delivered straight to your inbox ]

Adams: Give me the field. Georgia is really good, and quarterback Carson Beck will be a Heisman Trophy contender. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulldogs won a national championship. But, I don’t think this is Kirby Smart’s best squad, and there are other teams I like from the SEC, too, like Ole Miss and Texas. Ohio State doesn’t sweeten the pot enough. I don’t trust Ryan Day to navigate a 12-team playoff, and I’m made more skeptical of the Buckeyes because of the quarterback transition.

Later in the episode

– A look at John Calipari’s quest to build an NCAA Tournament roster in Year 1 at Arkansas. Calipari is considering an unusual strategy as he approaches this season.

Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered

Apple

Spotify

iHeart

Google

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

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