Jones win solidifies GOP ticket as Dems face runoffs

Democrats face four June runoff elections

Burt Jones

On Friday, State Sen. Butch Miller officially conceded in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor, as fellow State Sen. Burt Jones remained above the 50% runoff threshold as more ballots were counted.

Miller’s concession means that Republicans have solidified their statewide ticket. There will be no statewide Republican runoffs on the ballot in June. Many Republican incumbents, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, easily quashed challenges from Trump-endorsed candidates in this month’s primary.

Georgia Democrats, meanwhile, will be faced with four statewide runoff elections when voters return to the polls in three weeks. They still have to nominate candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner and Labor Commissioner.

The Democratic race for Lieutenant Governor has come down to prosecutor Charlie Bailey and former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall. The winner of the June runoff will take on Jones in the November general election.

In the race Secretary of State, State Rep. Bee Nguyen fell short of an outright victory and will face former State Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler next month. The winner will challenge Raffensperger, who pulled off a huge upset with an outright victory in the Republican primary.

Democrats must also nominate a candidate to take on Insurance Commissioner John King, who was appointed by Gov. Kemp after a fraud scandal forced Commissioner Jim Beck out of office.

The race for Labor Commissioner is seen as one of the more important races on the ballot this fall, as both parties have criticized the Labor Department’s handling of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner of the Democratic runoff will take on Republican State Sen. Bruce Thompson this fall.

Georgia Republicans, who feared that the primaries would further divide the party, have managed to nominate their entire statewide ticket. But their Democratic counterparts must spend an additional four weeks assembling their ticket before they can focus on making additional gains in November.