Close Atlanta Mayoral Race, Results From Ga. Senate, House Runoffs
While many kept their eye on results from Tuesday’s Atlanta mayoral race that seemed likely to be heading for a recount, other races for seats in the Georgia Senate and House were decided.
Al Such / WABE
The race for mayor in Atlanta early Wednesday was too close to call, with one candidate declaring herself the city’s new leader and the other vowing to request a recount.
Meanwhile, votes were decided to fill four vacant seats in the Georgia General Assembly — two in the House and two in the Senate.
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s elections:
Atlanta Mayor
In the Atlanta mayoral race, the margin was razor-thin, with several hundred votes separating Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood.
Bottoms spoke early Wednesday at an Atlanta hotel, saying near the end of her speech that “I am just in awe of what God is able to do.”
“I’m so honored to be your 60th mayor,” she told her cheering supporters.
But Norwood took the podium at her own rally and said that absentee ballots from military members were yet to figure in the totals, and that she believes that some ballots have yet to be tabulated.
“We will be asking for a recount,” Norwood said.
Bottoms led Norwood by a margin of less than 1 percent, which is the threshold where the second-place finisher can request a recount under state law.
Whoever wins, Atlanta will be led by a female mayor for the first time since 2010, when former Mayor Shirley Franklin left office. Franklin served two terms after winning in 2001.
If Norwood wins, she would be Atlanta’s first white mayor in 44 years. She would also be Atlanta’s first-ever white female mayor.
Atlanta’s last white mayor, Sam Massell, left office in 1974 and was succeeded by five African-American mayors in the next four decades: Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Bill Campbell, Franklin and current Mayor Kasim Reed.
Georgia House
Metro Atlanta voters elected Bee Nguyen to a seat in the Georgia General Assembly on Tuesday.
Nguyen, with 52 percent of the vote, defeated fellow Democrat Sachin Varghese in the House District 89 runoff.
Nguyen was elected to the seat left vacant by state Rep. Stacey Abrams, an Atlanta Democrat who is leaving the Legislature to run for governor.
In the second of the two Georgia House seats up for grabs Tuesday, Kim Schofield defeated fellow Democrat De’Andre Pickett for a seat representing parts of metro Atlanta in the General Assembly.
Schofield won the runoff election for the vacant seat in House District 60, which includes parts of Fulton and Clayton counties. Schofield had nearly 53 percent of the vote.
Schofield was elected after Democratic Rep. Keisha Waites resigned from the District 60 seat in September to run for chair of the Fulton County Commission.
Georgia Senate
Runoffs were held Tuesday for two state Senate seats left vacant when their occupants left the statehouse to run for other political offices.
Jen Jordan defeated Jaha Howard in a runoff for the state Senate District 6 seat in metro Atlanta. Jordan, a Democrat, got 64 percent of the vote to defeat Howard, also a Democrat. Tuesday’s election was held to fill a seat left open when Republican Hunter Hill left the chamber to run for Georgia governor.
In Senate District 39, voters elected Atlanta Democrat Nikema Williams.
Williams defeated fellow Democrat Linda Pritchett with 51 percent of the vote to win the vacant Senate District 39 seat.
The seat was left open by Democrat Vincent Fort, who stepped down to run for Atlanta mayor.
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