Please take a moment to review the major election results, as they currently stand as of Friday November 6, 2020.
AJC 2020 Georgia Live Election Results
President
Counting continues in the 2020 election on Friday, and no Presidential winner has been declared. Mail-in ballots and rules restricting when officials in key states could begin processing them has delayed the vote count, which will continue into the coming hours and days. The race for the White House is coming down to who wins the few remaining battleground states – Alaska (3 electoral votes), Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15), and Pennsylvania (20). Biden has 253 confirmed electoral votes and would need 17 more to win. President Trump has 214 confirmed electoral votes and would need 56 more to win. Biden took a narrow lead in Georgia and as of Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern, he was ahead by 1,097 votes with more than 98 percent of the estimated vote counted.
U.S Senate
Incumbent Republican David Perdue is falling just short of 50% of the vote in his battle against Democrat Jon Ossoff and Shane Hazel from the Libertarian Party, with 98% of the ballots counted.
A Special Senate Election is now headed to a runoff between Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock. Democrat Warnock won 32.8% and Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler trailed him with 26% of the votes.
U.S. House of Representatives
The 7th District, 9th District, and 14th District will have new representatives after Rep. Rob Woodall, Rep. Doug Collins, and Rep. Tom Graves did not run for re-election. There is also a new representative for the 5th Congressional District to succeed the late Rep. John Lewis.
Carolyn Bordeaux, who ran for Georgia’s 7th District in 2018, claimed victory in the race this year over Republican Rich McCormick. The race has not been officially called and McCormick has not conceded.
Republican Andrew Clyde defeated Democrat Devin Pandy in Georgia’s 9th Congressional District previously held by Collins. Collins conceded in the U.S. Senate race, which will come down to Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock.
Marjorie Greene won Georgia’s 14th District. She won the seat previously held by Rep. Tom Graves, who retired this year.
U.S Rep. Lucy McBath won her re-election to the Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in a closely-watched rematch with Republican Karen Handel.
The following incumbents also won re-election for the remaining districts: Buddy Carter, Sanford Bishop, Drew Ferguson, Hank Johnson, Austin Scott, Jody Hice, Barry Loudermilk, Rick Allen, and David Scott.
Georgia House of Representatives
All 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Heading into the election, there were 105 Republicans, 74 Democrats, and one vacancy in the chamber.
Georgia Democrats only gained two new seats in the Republican-controlled House – far short of the 16 seats needed to flip the chamber.
Georgia State Senate
All 56 seats in the Georgia State Senate were up for election in 2020. Following the 2018 election, 35 members of the body were aligned with the Republican Party and 21 were aligned with the Democratic Party.
Similar to the Georgia House of Representatives, the Senate Democrats only secured one new seat, still giving Republicans control of the Senate.
Cobb County
The demographic and political realignment of Cobb County has three major offices changing hands from Republican to the Democratic Party.
Democrat Lisa Cupid has ousted incumbent Cobb Commission Chair Mike Boyce, a Republican, in a major victory for the Democratic Party in Cobb County. Cupid has represented South Cobb as a Commissioner on the Board for the past eight years. She will be the first African American woman to serve as chair, and the first Democrat in many years. Cupid said her first priority will be addressing issues of “governance” to ensure all commissioners feel included in decision-making.
Democrat Monique Sheffield ran unopposed to replace Lisa Cupid in South Cobb and will serve as the Commissioner of District Four of Cobb County representing Austell, Mableton, Powder Springs, South Marietta, and portions of Smyrna.
Democrat Jerica Richardson won the East Cobb District 2 seat by a thin margin of 394 votes allowing Democrats to control a majority on the board.
Democrat Flynn Broady ousted Republican incumbent Joyette Homes for the Cobb District Attorney seat with slightly over 10,000 votes.
In the Sheriff’s race, Democrat Craig Owens, a police major, declared victory over incumbent Republican Neil Warren.
With 66.4% of the vote in favor of the Cobb SPLOST Referendum, voters renewed the SPLOST for another six years starting in 2022. A large portion of the SPLOST revenue will go toward Cobb DOT projects, especially for road resurfacing. The SPLOST project list also contains multiple public safety projects, a new animal shelter, parks and library safety enhancements, and funding for projects in Cobb’s six cities.
The Council for Quality Growth commends Cobb residents for approving the renewal of the county’s SPLOST. The SPLOST program will continue to be a crucial financing tool to improve aging infrastructure, spur economic development, and enhance the quality of life for each citizen.
Gwinnett County
The District Attorney, Danny Porter, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Patsy Austin-Gatson, an experienced attorney who’d most recently been the Chief Investigator in the Gwinnett County Solicitor’s Office.
And retiring Republican Sheriff Butch Conway will be replaced by Democrat and former Gwinnett Police officer Keybo Taylor, who beat Lou Solis, Jr., the Sheriff’s Office’s Chief Deputy of Operations.
A third major position – County Commission Chair – will also pass from Republican Charlotte J. Nash, who did not seek re-election, to Democrat Nicole Love Hendrickson.
Democrats also pick-up District 1 with former Duluth Councilman Kirkland Carden, receiving 55.5% of the votes and District 3 Democrat Jasper Watkins obtaining 58.7% of the votes.
All three of those races were decided comfortably, with 56% or more of the vote going to the Democratic candidate.
A vast majority of Gwinnett residents voted “Yes” with 76.6% to renew the Education SPLOST. Extending the E-SPLOST allows Gwinnett schools to upgrade and provide technology, access, and distance learning for all students, and helps close the achievement gap. Our organization commends Gwinnett residents for renewing the E-SPLOST which will provide critical educational opportunities to train our region’s future workforce.
Passage of the Gwinnett Transit Referendum seems slim with the results right now effectively split 50-50 with the “No” votes holding a 1,749-vote advantage and thousands of absentee and provisional ballots left to be counted. County Spokesman Joe Sorenson said there are still 4,400 absentee ballots that were turned in by voters on Tuesday that still have to be counted. There are also nearly 1,000 provisional ballots that need to be dealt with as well. The Council for Quality Growth supports the Gwinnett Transit Referendum as it would provide critical investments to improve mobility and connectivity in Gwinnett County and throughout the metro Atlanta region.
Henry County
Similar to Cobb County, Henry County experienced a political shift in leadership. Democratic Carlotta Harrell defeated incumbent June Wood. Harrell will serve as the Chair of the Board of Commissioners starting in January 2021.
District 2 Commissioner Dee Clemmons was re-elected defeating Republican challenger Steve Richardson. District 1 Commissioner Johnny Wilson was unopposed and re-elected to his second term. Democrats now have a 4-2 majority on the County Commission.
The Council for Quality Growth commends Henry County residents for approving the redevelopment powers referendum which allows Henry County and its four municipalities to create tax allocation districts and bond funds for capital improvements within the district.