ELECTION 2022—Kemp, Walker, TSPLOST tops at local polls

It was a good evening for incumbent candidates, and Republicans overall, across the November 8 General Election in Lumpkin County, according to unofficial results posted to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website with 100 percent of precincts reporting.
In a separate Special Election, Lumpkin voters also chose to renew the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax by an unofficial tally of 3,221 votes to 2,308. While the “yes” votes carried the day by 58 percent to 42 percent, the 5,529 total votes cast in the Special Election represents approximately half the participation rate of any contested race on the General Election ballot. Lumpkin County voter turnout came in at 57 percent for the General Election, meanwhile, with 12,755 out of 22,370 registered voters casting ballots.
According to Elections Manager Robin McIntosh, the election went smoothly despite having to conduct separate General and Special Elections.
“It went really great. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from the voters in the community. Everybody said they were able to get through very quickly and efficiently. We didn’t have any issues with any of the equipment,” McIntosh reported.
In the hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Republican challenger Herschel Walker was the clear choice of Lumpkin County voters, dominating incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock by a tally of 9,759 votes to 2,536. Libertarian Chase Oliver collected 368 votes, nearly 3 percent of the Lumpkin vote.
Statewide, however, neither candidate reached the critical “50 percent plus one vote” threshold needed to win the high-stakes race outright. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Warnock held a narrow lead over Walker statewide, 49.42 percent to 48.52 percent.  The race is now headed for a two-way runoff to decide the winner.
“We’ll have early voting November 28 -  December 2. Of course, Election Day will be on December 6. We’ll have early voting [at the Elections office] like we normally do, and Election Day will be at Parks and Rec,” said McIntosh.
In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives seat representing District 9, Republican incumbent Andrew Clyde won the support of 10,211 Lumpkin voters, while 2,364 voters lent their support to Democratic challenger Michael “Mike” Ford. In the overall race, Clyde cruised to victory, besting Ford by 72 percent to 28 percent.
Back at the state level, Republican Governor Brian Kemp handily defeated Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, easily securing a second term. Lumpkin County voters overwhelmingly agreed with that decision, with Governor Kemp securing 10,518 local votes compared to only 2,067 votes for Democrat Stacey Abrams. Libertarian  candidate Shane Hazel got 142 local votes.
Likewise, Lumpkin County chose Republican Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones over Democrat Charlie Bailey, with Jones receiving 10,073 votes compared to 2,240 for the Bailey. Libertarian Ryan Graham earned 304 votes.
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger received the support of 9,937 Lumpkin voters, while his opponent, Democrat Bee Nguyen, got 1,965 votes. Ted Metz, the Libertarian candidate, won over 652 Lumpkin voters.
Local residents chose to return incumbent Attorney General Chris Carr (R) to his post with 10,124 votes compared to 2,257 votes for challenger Jennifer “Jen” Jordan (D). Martin Cowen (L) got 248 votes in the county.
Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper defeated Democrat Nakita Hemingway in Lumpkin by a tally of 10,280 votes to 1,979. Libertarian David Raudabaugh received 328 votes.
John King (R), incumbent Commissioner of Insurance, was selected over Democrat Janice Laws Robinson by a total of 10,426 to 2,121 local votes.
Lumpkin County picked Republican Bruce Thompson for Commissioner of Labor with 10,096 votes to 2,081 votes for his Democrat opponent, William “Will” Boddie, Jr. The Libertarian candidate in the race, Emily Anderson, garnered 373 votes.
For State School Superintendent, Lumpkin voters indicated their preference for incumbent Republican Richard Woods, who received 10,437 votes. Democratic challenger Alisha Thomas Searcy, meanwhile, received 2,126 votes.
Voters in Lumpkin chose to return a total of seven unopposed Republican incumbents to their posts.
Rhett Stringer was re-elected as County Commissioner for District 3 with a total of 11,209 votes, while Jeff Moran will return as County Commissioner for District 4 with 11,122 votes.
Jeff Langley was re-elected District Attorney for the Enotah Judicial Circuit with a total of 11,173 votes. Upper Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Tracy Lee Grizzle was also re-elected, with a total of 10,996 votes.
Three more Republicans ran unopposed for state offices. Lumpkin voters approved another term for incumbent State Senator Steve Gooch with 11,012 votes. In the 9th District, incumbent State House Representative Will Wade received 9,796 votes. Meanwhile, incumbent State House Representative Lee Hawkins received the support of 1,254 Lumpkin voters.
It was a clean sweep for General Election ballot questions in Lumpkin County, as voters approved two state Constitutional Amendments and two Statewide Referendums on the General Election ballot.
Residents voted for an amendment to provide “for suspension of compensation of certain State officers and members of the General Assembly… following indictment for a felony” by a tally of 11,071 votes to 1,312 votes. A second amendment providing “for temporary local tax relief after disasters” was similarly approved at the local level by 11,410 votes to 1,067.
A statewide referendum providing “for ad valorem tax exemption for certain timber production, reforestation, and harvesting equipment” was also approved by Lumpkin voters, but by the smallest margin of the four questions asked, with a total of 6,838 votes for and 5,398 against. The second referendum expanding “ad valorem tax exemption for family-owned farms” received the support of 9,727 voters, while 2,582 opposed the measure.