UPDATE: Chambers takes the victory over Anker in District 10 City Council race

Reminder: These are the unofficial results. The Muscogee County Elections Board is scheduled to meet on Friday to certify the results.

UPDATE 11:40 p.m. – Chambers is taking the victory over his opponent John Anker in the District 10 City Council race and WRBL is bringing you team coverage of the race and spoke with both candidates to get their reactions to the results.

For Chambers, this is his third time appearing on the ballot. He lost a runoff in 2010 for a city-wide district seat and a Georgia statehouse seat, but the third time’s a charm.

Let me just say this. Yeah, I’ve had a couple of losses, but at the end of the day, I love Columbus, Georgia.  And one of the commitments that I made is that I will continue to serve our city because I believe in Columbus.

Travis Chambers

Fortunately for Chambers, the District 10 City Council race, fell into place with the four-week runoff. Chambers received strong support in South Columbus precincts and stood firmly in the northern part of the county. The real estate broker and non-profit executive received much support from the Columbus business community.

Since there was a special election on the ballot and Chambers won by similar margins, he will take his seat officially after the votes are certified. First, he will complete the term vacated by John House and then start his four-year term in January 2025.

Chambers is joining his wife Kia, who serves on the Muscogee County School Board as a city-wide elected official.

WRBL also spoke with businessman John Anker who says he’s disappointed with the results but proud of his attempt.

Anker’s main driver behind his campaign was pushing for community involvement. Although he lost, Anker continues to advocate for locals attending city council meetings and asking questions to get real answers.

You know, I’d like to see substance. I’d like to see real economy change. I’d like to see real things to the south side. I’d like to see community collaboration be real an I’d like our citizens to go to the podium at city council don’t take simple answers with no substance behind them and push hard for real action and transparency. Push hard for accountability. Let’s know where the numbers are.

John Anker

Ultimately, Anker hopes that supporting the south side of Columbus and increasing collaboration remains a focal point for the city council. Anker believes he tried to incite change twice referring back to his race for mayor against Skip Henderson and said he doesn’t plan on running again and will continue to support the community through his business.

UPDATE 8:18 p.m. – With 50% of the votes Realtor Travis Chambers holds nearly a 1,500 vote lead over John Anker the race for the city-wide District 10 City Council seat

Chambers has 5067 votes to 3573 votes for Anker; that includes nine of the city’s 25 voting precincts.

MUSCOGEE COUNTY, Ga. ( WRBL ) – The first vote totals for Columbus City Council District 10 seat has been released by the Muscogee Office of Elections and Registration

Realtor Travis Chambers has jumped to an early lead with 6,700 votes tabulated. Chambers has received 4,038 which is 60% compared to 2,662 for businessman John Anker

These votes only count early in-person and absentee ballots; none of the votes cast today are included in this group.

There were well over 5,000 votes cast in person on Tuesday. Chambers and Anker were forced into a runoff when neither candidate got a majority in the May 21 race. Because this election is to fill the unexpired term John House it appears on the ballot.

The first time it appeared on the ballot was for the 6 months to finish the term and the second time for a complete four-year term. Chambers also has a commanding lead in the special election for the unexpired term with the same 60-40 margins. We will continue to monitor the votes as the come in through the night.

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