Primary Election Results Decided By Fewer Than 3,000 Dade Voters

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

With the results of the May 21 primary in (unofficial and pending certification as of press time), we now know who will be serving on the next iterations of the Dade County Board of Commissioners and Dade County Board of Education. Of the contested local seats, Don Townsend, Bob Woods, Melissa Bradford, Steve Forester, and Jayne Griffin prevailed.

Of all the candidates on the ballots (Republican, Democratic, or Nonpartisan ballots), Joel McCormick (chief magistrate) garnered the most votes with 2,324.

Even though primaries can be deciding events, Dade had poor voter turnout with only 2,799 ballots cast out of 11,353 active voters—a 24.65 percent turnout. This is a decline from the May 2020 primary in which 3,315 ballots were cast. At that time, registered voters hovered around 11,000, making for a roughly 30 percent turnout.

Results from the ballot questions (commonly called straw polls) are included at the end of this article. (See the May 1 issue of the Sentinel for background on the Dade-specific ballot questions.)

However, it’s worth asking: With fewer than 3,000 voters voicing their opinions (2,570 on the Republican ballot questions and 210 on the Democratic questions), do these results accurately indicate public sentiment? Alternatively, could it be assumed that those who vote are the most engaged in public discourse, have made an effort to be informed, or at least have chosen to voice their opinion, and therefore these voices should be given greater weight?

US House of Representatives – District 14 (Republican)

• Marjorie Taylor Greene (I): 2,024

US House of Representatives – District 14 (Democratic)

• Clarence Blalock: 78
• Shawn “General” Harris: 73
• Deric Houston: 26
• Joseph Leigh: 17
• Total Votes: 194

Editor’s Note: Blalock and Harris will face each other in the June 18 runoff.

State Senate – District 53 (Republican)

• Colton Moore (I): 1,712
• Angela Pence: 747
• Total Votes: 2,459

Editor’s Note: This race is decided by the entire district. Across the district, Moore received 70 percent of the votes, and Pence received 30 percent.

State Senate – District 53 (Democratic)

• Bart Alexander Bryant: 174

State House of Representatives – District 1 (Republican)

• Mike Cameron (I): 2,115

State House of Representatives – District 1 (Democratic)

• John B. Zibluk: 173

District Attorney – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit (Republican)

• Clayton Fuller (I): 2,068

Clerk of Superior Court (Republican)

• Kathy D. Page (I): 2,173

Sheriff (Republican)

• Ray G. Cross (I): 2,246

Tax Commissioner (Republican)

• Angie M. Galloway (I): 2,225

Coroner (Republican)

• Courtney Gross (I): 2,208

County Commission Chairperson (Republican)

• Daniel M. Case: 644
• Robert A. Ryan, III: 608
• Don Townsend: 1,263
• Total Votes: 2,515

County Commissioner District 3 (Republican)

• Jerry Henegar: 1,208
• Bob Woods: 1,230
• Total Votes: 2,438

County Commissioner District 4 (Republican)

• Melissa C. Bradford (I): 1,380
• Boyd L. Hartline, Jr.: 1,086
• Total Votes: 2,466

Board of Education District 3 (Republican)

• John Warren (I): 2,037

Board of Education District 4 (Republican)

• Carolyn Moses Bradford (I): 1,030
• Steve Forester: 1,428
• Total Votes: 2,458

Board of Education At-Large (Republican)

• Jayne O’Neal Griffin (I): 1,712
• Patrick B. Hickey: 652
• Total Votes: 2,364

Judge – Supreme Court (Nonpartisan)

• Michael P. Boggs: 2,083

Judge – Supreme Court (Nonpartisan)

• John J. Ellington (I): 2,082

Judge – Supreme Court (Nonpartisan)

• Nels Peterson (I): 2,072

Judge – Supreme Court (Nonpartisan)

• John Barrow: 878
• Andrew Pinson (I): 1,425
• Total Votes: 2,303

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Stephen Dillard (I): 2,049

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Ken Hodges (I): 2,046

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Ben Land (I): 2,040

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Amanda H. Mercier (I): 2,010

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Jeff Davis: 1,511
• Tabitha Ponder: 668
• Total Votes: 2,179

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Brian M. Rickman (I): 2,022

Judge – Court of Appeals (Nonpartisan)

• Jeffrey A. Watkins (I): 2,026

Judge – Superior Court – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit (Nonpartisan)

• Chris A. Arnt (I): 2,112

Judge – Superior Court – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit (Nonpartisan)

• Ann E. Willard Fiddler: 1,289
• Melissa Gifford Hise: 1,210
• Total Votes: 2,499

Judge – Superior Court – Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit (Nonpartisan)

• Brian House (I): 2,163

Chief Magistrate (Nonpartisan)

• Joel E. McCormick (I): 2,324

Judge of Probate Court

• Kerri Bray Carter (I): 2,291

Republican State Questions:

• For future elections, do you want hand marked paper ballots, scanned and verified by hand count on live stream video? Yes: 1,445 No: 1,006
• Should the legislature enact the FairTax replacing the state income tax and state sales tax with a consumption tax equal to current state funding and taxing no legal citizen or family up to the poverty level of spending? Yes: 1,315 No: 966
• Should the legislature ban registered lobbyists from serving on the State Elections Board? Yes: 2,177 No: 216
• Should the Georgia Republican Primary have a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans would be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary? Yes: 1,491 No: 913
• Should public officials who allow illegal migration to occur be held responsible for crimes committed by illegal aliens? Yes: 2,013 No: 437
• Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta? Yes: 2,026 No: 389
• Currently, hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars are spent every year cleaning up voter rolls. Would you support an amendment to the National Voting Rights Act that would require registered voters to renew their registration every four years? Yes: 1,869 No: 555
• Do you believe unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats, like the UN controlled World Health Organization (WHO), should have complete control over management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices? Yes: 170 No: 2,222

Democratic State Questions:

• Should the United State and the State of Georgia protect Georgians from gun violence by banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, and passing other common-sense gun safety reforms? Yes: 191 No: 15
• Should the State of Georgia incentivize clean energy production as part of a climate policy that recognizes the urgent threat that climate change poses to Georgians’ health, lives and future? Yes: 191 No: 12
• Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by allowing same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and making secure ballot drop boxes accessible at all times through Election Day? Yes: 185 No: 22
• Should the State of Georgia protect reproductive freedom by repealing the current six-week abortion ban, restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and ensuring access to contraceptives, IVF, abortion and other reproductive health care? Yes: 197 No: 9
• Should the State of Georgia stop using taxpayer dollars intended for public education to pay for private school vouchers? Yes: 181 No: 26
• Should the State of Georgia raise the minimum wage to a living wage? Yes: 199 No: 9
• Should the portion of the Georgia state constitution allowing for involuntary servitude of prisoners and others convicted of offenses be repealed, thus prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude statewide? Yes: 152 No: 51
• Should the State of Georgia improve access to safe, affordable housing by increasing the affordable housing supply, protecting tenants’ rights to habitable living conditions, and cracking down on negligence or abuse by property management companies or landlords? Yes: 197 No: 9

Republican County Questions:

• Should Dade County require a business license of all Contractors who perform work within Dade County? This includes General, Earth Moving, HVAC, Plumbing, Utility and Electrical. Yes: 1,233 No: 1,209
• Should Dade County have a Countywide Nuisance Ordinance? Yes: 1,381 No: 1,027
• Does Dade County need some type of Land Use Ordinance in the Unincorporated portion of the County? Yes: 970 No: 1,413
• Should the Dade County Commission pass a resolution to urge the state’s Governor and Legislature to continue in the 2025 Legislative Session to improve access to mental health services, including, for example, funding for additional behavioral health centers, additional co-responder units, and other resources to assist those with mental health and substance abuse disorders? Yes: 1,899 No: 487

Democratic County Questions:

• Should Dade County limit ownership of future short term vacation rental units to persons who reside in Dade County or nearby counties? Yes: 135 No: 64
• Should Dade County have a countywide Nuisance Ordinance? Yes: 141 No: 57
• Should Dade County shift its focus away from expanding new manufacturing and focus more on promoting existing local businesses and home building? Yes: 122 No: 75
• Should the Dade County Commissioners pass a resolution to urge the state’s Governor and Legislature to continue in the 2025 Legislative Session to improve access to mental health services, including, for example, funding for additional behavioral health centers, additional co-responder units, and other resources to assist those with mental health and substance abuse disorders? Yes: 198 No: 6