Follow along live through Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
CAMDEN
Sheriff
With 11/11 precincts reporting at 9:53 p.m.
James Proctor (I), Independent 9,271
James “Kevin” Chaney, Republican 15,926
- Voters first elected James “Jim” Proctor, a Valdosta native, as an independent to the post of Camden County sheriff in 2012. He had not faced a significant challenge to his leadership, until the past year, as two candidates jumped into the Republican primary to oppose him in November. Proctor’s former top deputy, Kevin Chaney, won the primary election in May to take on Proctor.
- Much of the race centered on law enforcement accountability and taxpayer responsibility. Since November 2022 state police have charged six Camden deputies and jailors for violent incidents. The county’s insurer declined to renew its policy in 2023 due to the excessive use-of-force incidents and frequently wrecked police cruisers. The insurer renegotiated more expensive rates for the county amid six figure payouts to settle lawsuits.
- Chaney’s campaign said culture changes required better oversight and a new sheriff, while Proctor said he addressed the issues after they came to light. Proctor said understaffing, the jail’s deterioration and taxpayer-dollar waste by county commissioners were to blame.
County Commission District 1
Kevin M. Walker, Democratic 2,049
Walter “Robbie” Cheek, Republican 3,624
With 11/11 precincts reporting as of 9:52 p.m.
CHATHAM
Counting in Chatham was ongoing at 12:55 a.m.
Sheriff
John Wilcher (I), Republican 54,380
Richard Coleman, Democratic 64,606
- John Wilcher spent more than half his life working for the agency he would one day lead. Elected in a 2016 special election runoff, Wilcher ran the Chatham County Sheriff’s office as a Republican for two, four-year terms. He focused on issues related to inmate safety, medical contracts, recidivism programs and increasing quality of life for his deputies. Wilcher is well-known and well-liked among Chatham Republicans and Democrats.
- A cardiac arrest hospitalized Wilcher for months over the summer. Now 80-years-old and in a wheelchair, his health status created an opening for Democratic opponent, Richard Coleman. The Savannah-native and former chief of police in two Georgia cities said it was time for new leadership at Georgia’s fifth-largest jail.
District Attorney
Shalena Cook Jones (I), Democratic 62,947
Andre Pretorius, Republican 54,415
- Cook Jones, a former elder abuse prosecutor in Chatham, was first elected as district attorney in 2020, when she unseated incumbent Republican Meg Heap. The Democrat pitched reforms of Chatham’s criminal justice system. Much of her first term, however, was hampered by the Covid-19 backlog, a cascade of prosecutors leaving her office and sanctions by a federal judge over her conduct.
- Some of the achievements of Cook Jones’ first term included diversion programs for non-violent property crime or drug crime offenders, holding police officers who commit misconduct on the job accountable, and prosecuting violent crimes in trials, like the Leilani Simon case.
- Andre Pretorius, a former attorney for Chatham County and misdemeanor prosecutor, challenged Cook Jones as a Republican. He said crime victims languished under Cook Jones’ oversight, and the county suffered from the lack of experienced prosecutors. He ran on a more traditional “tough on crime” prosecutorial platform. The two candidates traded barbs over effectiveness and ethics.
County Commission Chair
Chester Ellis (I), Democratic 68,252
Joel Boblasky, Republican 49,605
Ellis, the incumbent, ran on a record he said shows he is able to gather resources from state and federal governments to improve the county’s infrastructure for its recent growth, including emergency services. Joel Boblasky challenged that saying he can provide a vision for the future with structured planning for growth.
County Commission Dist. 6
Aaron R. Whitely, (I), Democratic 8,238
Leonard C. Massey, Republican 5,359
County Commission Dist. 7
Dean Kicklighter (I), Republican 10,275
Orlando Scott, Democratic 8,129
BRYAN
While there are no contested races in the county, there was one write-in race of note.
Carter Infinger (I), Republican 14,316
Meredith Gibson, Write-in 934
Meredith Gibson, a Richmond Hill resident, ran a write-in campaign for Commission Chair. Gibson was inspired to run against Infinger after witnessing flooding from Tropical Storm Debby and alleging a lack of leadership in the county’s recovery efforts.
LIBERTY
Sheriff
Will Bowman (I), Democratic 14,164
Gary Eason, Republican 8,442
With 12/12 precincts reporting as of 9:58 p.m.
- Bowman, twice Georgia State Patrol Trooper of the Year and Liberty County’s first African-American sheriff, upset the 3-generation Sikes dynasty when he won the office 4 years ago, but came under fire for spending some school zone speed camera revenues on school and community youth groups.
- Eason has been critical of Bowman’s school zone camera revenue spending, calling for a grand jury investigation into the matter, and alleges that Bowman has hurt morale at LCSO.
County Commission Chair
Donald L. Lovette (I), Democratic 13,722
Michael Navarro, Republican 8,796
With 12/12 precincts reporting as of 9:58 p.m.
- Lovette has amassed significant political power over 4 decades on the Liberty County School Board and the Board of Commissioners, as well as several other local boards, and frequently calls for citizens to educate themselves on basic processes like zoning requests and millage rate hearings.
- Navarro, an Army veteran and school bus driver, has said that he would use his position on the Board of Commissioners to lower county taxes, even though the chair only votes to break a tie, and that he would “welcome a second Trump administration.”
County Commission Dist. 4
Maxie R. Jones (I), Democratic 1,090
Timmy Blount, Republican 2,008
With 12/12 precincts reporting as of 9:53 p.m.
- Jones, a longtime employee of DS Smith (formerly Interstate Paper) and vice-president of United Steel Workers Local 1354, is the brother of the late tax commissioner Virgil Jones and has called for tax breaks for developers to build more affordable housing.
- Blount, a project manager for defense contractor TSW at Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field, says he wants to cut county spending and work with GDOT to improve road maintenance and safety.
Transportation SPLOST
Yes 10,459
No 11,521
With 12/12 precincts reporting as of 8:18 p.m.
- The Liberty County TSPLOST 2 would go into effect when the existing 1-cent sales tax for transportation expires and would not increase county sales tax.
- Some projects slated to receive funding include the Hinesville bypass, Liberty Transit bus service, bike paths, and road repairs throughout the county and municipalities.
GLYNN
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for education, 1%
Yes 23,099
No 19,155
With 17/17 precincts reporting as of 8:04 p.m.
The 1% sales and use tax for educational purposes be imposed in the Glynn County School District for a period of time not to exceed 4 years or after it met the $114.6 million cap for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, and equipping the following capital outlay projects in the district.
Board of Education Dist. 3
John Madala (I), Republican 6,251
Robert B. McKenzie, Democratic 2,628
With 5/5 precincts reporting as of 10 p.m.
With the upcoming retirement of school superintendent Scott Spence and the pending elementary school rezoning, the District 3 school board seat is up for grabs. John Madala, the Republican incumbent, has held the seat since 2009. Madala has also been a nurse at Southeast Georgia Health System for the past 26 years, he was deputy chief at the Brunswick Fire Department but was dismissed in 2014.
Bob McKenzie, the Democratic challenger has been the owner of McKenzieHR since 2002. He said wants to move Glynn County Schools into the top ten percent of schools in Georgia. His wife, Olga McKenzie is the the county chair of the Democratic Party.
MCINTOSH
Sheriff
With 5/5 precincts reporting
Thornell “TK” King, Democratic 3,875
Christopher Mitchell, Republican 3,508
- McIntosh County has had the same top law enforcement officer since 2009. So when Sheriff Stephen Jessup decided not to run for reelection in 2024, it created an opportunity for fresh blood in a position made infamous by news headlines about racial profiling in traffic stops and good-ol-boys networks referenced in the pages of “Praying for Sheetrock.”
- Thornell “T.K.” King threw his hat in the ring as a Democratic candidate. The longtime Georgia State Patrol major, honored by the state legislature in 2021, has pitched increasing trust between law enforcement and McIntosh citizens. Chris Mitchell, running as a Republican, is a top deputy under Jessup. Mitchell said his main focuses were reducing debt the sheriff’s office has accrued while keeping citizens safe through “proactive policing.”
Transportation SPLOST
With 5/5 precincts reporting
Yes 3,022
No 3,950
This vote would extend a 1% sales tax for Mcintosh County. The money would be split between Darien and the county, and would sunset in 6 years or when the total collected reached $11,500,000, with a split of $9.2 million to the county at $2.3 million for Darien. Both residents of Darien and McIntosh County must vote on the measure. 17 road projects will be priorities along with 8 city streets.
Grant Full Development Powers to Industrial Development Authority
With 5/5 precincts reporting
Yes 2,490
No 4,316
Grant Full Development Powers to City of Darien
With 2/2 precincts reporting
Yes 390
No 569
These two measures allow the county and Darien to exercise all points of the specific state law. (Click here to read it.) When the Darien City Council and McIntosh County Commission resolved to add this to the ballot, the stated plan was to give the McIntosh County Development Authority power to designate a Tax Allocation District in Darien to raise money to pay for bonds for redevelopment purposes.
