Georgia 2022 primary runoff election results
Georgia voters headed back to the polls Tuesday for five races' runoff elections, including three high-profile House contests, which will finalize the November midterm general election ballot. Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.
State Significance
The state is holding these five runoff elections because no candidate in the May 24 primaries received more than 50% of the vote.
Georgia’s 2021 voting law shortened early voting periods before runoffs from nine to four weeks -- so before Tuesday's runoffs, only 138,000 Georgians voted early, a notable decline from the record 795,000 people who cast ballots in advance of last month’s primary, according to state election data reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Before the May 24 primary, voters got three weeks of early voting, including two mandatory Saturdays.
The most consequential runoffs on Tuesday will be for a Republican nominee in Georgia's 2nd, 6th and 10th Districts.
Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District has become more competitive for the GOP in their effort to unseat Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop. Jeremy Hunt, a Black Army Veteran endorsed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, is the favorite, garnering 37% of the vote in May primaries compared to attorney Chris West’s 30%.
Hunt came under fire from West for being a recent transplant to the district, but the front-runner has been actively campaigning for the slot and outraising his competitor.
The runoff for Georgia’s 6th District does not look promising for Trump-endorsed attorney Jake Evans, who earned 23% of the May 24 primary vote compared to physician Rich McCormick’s 43%.
FiveThirtyEight has reported that McCormick raised almost twice as much money as Evans, and School Freedom Fund, a super PAC allied with the Club for Growth, spent $1.3 million to help McCormick win. Evans was endorsed early in the race by Trump. Evans’ father, Randy Evans, was the former ambassador to Luxembourg under Trump.
In Georgia’s 10th District, Vernon Jones, a former Atlanta Democrat turned MAGA activist who was endorsed by Trump early this spring, has struggled to raise money and connect with some voters in the area.
The race’s highest fundraiser and favorite is Mike Collins, the owner of a trucking company. Collins led over Jones in the initial May 24 primary, 26 to 22%.
Ahead of the runoff, Gov. Brian Kemp -- who in his primary easily beat Trump-endorsed former Sen. David Perdue for the GOP gubernatorial nod -- endorsed Collins over Jones.
Despite not having Trump’s endorsement, Collins is a MAGA enthusiast. In September, he spoke at a "Justice for J6" rally.
Campaigning ahead of the runoff has become nastier between Collins and Jones: Right after the primary last month, Collins began to circulate rape whistles with his competitor's name on them in an unsubtle reference to Jones being accused of rape (which Jones denies). On June 14, Jones filed a complaint with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office over a tweet sent by Collins' campaign.
“These are the same false attacks that liberals used against President Trump, Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh, and Justice Clarence Thomas,” Jones told WAGA for a report on the police complaint.
