Former Atlanta City Councilman Lee Morris held a comfortable lead in the four-way Republican Primary race to represent District 3 on the Fulton County Commission.
According to unofficial returns posted on the Fulton County elections website on May 21, Morris took 57 percent of the vote in the primary, apparently enough to claim the nomination without a runoff. No Democrat filed in the district, which covers portions of Buckhead and Sandy Springs.
Commission Chairman John Eaves narrowly outpolled fellow Commissioner Robb Pitts in a near dead heat for the Democratic Primary for nomination to the countywide District 7 seat on the commission. Eaves led by about 350 votes among the 43,000 cast, according to the county election office webpage, a margin likely to result in a recount.
And in the newly redrawn District 2, which includes a portion of Sandy Springs, Bob Ellis outpolled Eric Broadwell two to one for the Republican nomination to the seat.
Beth Beskin led the four-candidate race for the Republican nomination to succeed former state Rep. Ed Lindsey in House District 54. Lindsey did not seek re-election so he could run for a seat in the U.S. House. The winner of the Republican primary in District 54 will face Democrat Robert W. Gibeling in the fall.
On May 21, Fulton County election officials reported Beskin had collected 49.9 percent of the votes cast. On her webpage, Beskin said she expected to be in a runoff July 22 with second-place finisher John J. McCloskey. In Georgia, races that end with no single candidate receiving more than half the total vote are decided by a runoff between the two candidates receiving the most votes.
In nonpartisan races for the Fulton County school board, incumbent Julia Bernath received 53 percent of the votes cast to withstand a challenge from Kate Wittschen.
According to the Georgia Secretary of State and Fulton County officials, here are the unofficial results of contested local races in the May 20 primaries and nonpartisan special election.
State Senate, District 38
Democratic Primary
Horacena Tate (I) 77 %
Reginald Crossley 23 %
State Senate, District 40
Democratic Primary
Tamara Y. Johnson 69 %
Benedict I. Truman II 31 %
Republican Primary
Fran Millar (I) 77 %
Richard D. “Dick” Anderson 23 %
State House of Representatives, District 54
Republican Primary
Beth Beskin 49 %
John J. McCloskey 30 %
Loretta A. Lepore 15 %
S.Angelic Moore 5 %
Democratic Primary
Robert W. Gibeling 100 %
State House of Representatives, District 80
Republican Primary
Michael J. “Mike” Jacobs (I) 75 %
Catherine S. Bernard 25 %
Fulton County Commission, District 2
Republican Primary
Bob Ellis 66 %
Eric Broadwell 34 %
Fulton County Commission, District 3
Republican Primary
Lee Morris 57 %
Bernand “Bernie” Tokarz 17 %
Cory Ruth 16 %
Alexander Palacios 10 %
Fulton County Commission, District 7
Democratic Primary
John Eaves (I) 50 %
Robb Pitts 49 %
Republican Primary
Earl Cooper 100 %
Fulton County Board of Education
Julia Bernath (I) 53%
Kate Wittschen 47 %
(I) Marks incumbent