Three races for sheriff highlight primary runoff election in northeast Georgia

The primary election runoff on Tuesday features three sheriff’s races in northeast Georgia.

Voters will go to the polls between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in several counties where runoffs are being held.

The sheriffs races are in Elbert, Franklin and Morgan counties, where incumbent sheriffs in each county decided not to run for re-election. This was an unusual year featuring seven counties in the Athens area where incumbent sheriffs decided against running for re-election.

In Franklin County, the runoff in the Republican primary runoff has Scott Andrews, a retired Georgia State Patrol trooper, facing Brian Stovall, who is a current deputy in the office. Sheriff Steve Thomas decided not to seek re-election.

Sheriff Races:Northeast Georgia voters return incumbents, elect new sheriffs in Tuesday primaries

In the May primary, Andrews narrowly missed winning the nomination as he had 49.49% of the vote, according to the Georgia Secretary of State. In the three-candidate race, Stovall came in second with 30.5% of the vote.

The Elbert County sheriff’s race in the Democratic Party primary has Darren Scarborough, a captain in the sheriff’s office, facing Elbert County native Dre’Kevious Gibbs.

In the primary, Scarborough tallied 699 votes to 526 for Gibbs. The winner will face Republican candidate Jamie Callaway in the November General Election. Sheriff Melvin Andrews did not see re-election.

The Morgan County race in the Republican primary runoff features Joseph Pritchett, a lieutenant with the sheriff’s office, and Tyler Hooks, a veteran of the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office. They were the top vote-getters in a race that feature seven candidates who wanted to replace Sheriff Robert Markley.