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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say

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Georgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say


A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.

It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.

Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.

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The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.

Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.

Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.

Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

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Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional

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Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional


STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.

The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.

The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.

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MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.

Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.

MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.

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Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals

Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.

New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.

NCAA baseball tournament schedule

  • Super regionals: June 5-8
  • College World Series: June 12-22

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.



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Georgia football picks up two commitments for 2027 recruiting class

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Georgia football picks up two commitments for 2027 recruiting class


Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.

Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s  pledged to the Bulldogs.

Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.

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Both are rated 3-star prospects.

“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.

Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.

Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.

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Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.

Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.

Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.

The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.

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He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.

Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.



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