Races for GOP nomination have been called in 2 Columbus area US House runoffs. Who won.
Both congressional runoff elections for Republican nominations in the Columbus area have been called, with Wayne Johnson winning the nomination for District 2 and Brian Jack winning the nomination for District 3.
Both U.S. House elections were unfinished races from the May 21 GOP primary.
No candidates in the May primary were able to get a majority of the vote, so the top two vote-getters advanced to Tuesday’s election.
Georgia 2nd Congressional District GOP runoff election results
Wayne Johnson has defeated Chuck Hand in the runoff to secure the Republican nomination for U.S. House District 2, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race at 7:23 p.m. Tuesday.
Johnson, a Bibb County businessman, and Hand, a Taylor County construction superintendent, finished as the top two out of four candidates in the May 21 primary.
Johnson will run in the Nov. 5 General Election against Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop of Albany, a former attorney.
In the May 21 primary, Johnson received 13,516 votes (44.3%) and Hand 9,787 (32.1%).
Multiple media outlets reported that Hand pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and admitted to breaking a piece of metal fencing and illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He was sentenced to 20 days of incarceration.
On May 29, Michael Nixon, a purchasing director from Colquitt County who finished third in the May 21 primary, held a news conference in Columbus to announce his endorsement of Johnson and accuse Hand of unethical behavior, allegedly proposing to collude during the campaign.
The Ledger-Enquirer asked Hand for his response. Hand wrote in an emailed reply, “This is politics. But that doesn’t make it right. And Michael Nixon will have a stain on his name in District 2 because of it. I don’t expect anything less coming from ruling class country club elites.”
During a June 9 debate against Johnson at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta, Hand walked off the stage after giving an opening statement.
“I’m not interested in debating the issues of the 2nd District with a man who doesn’t even reside in it,” Hand said.
The Capitol Beat news service reported that Johnson, who worked in the Trump administration as head of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Student Finance, lives in Macon, which is outside the 2nd District. But federal law doesn’t require members of the U.S. House to live in the district they represent.
Georgia 3rd Congressional District GOP runoff election results
Brian Jack, a Fayette County political adviser for Donald Trump, defeated Mike Dugan, a Carroll County retired military veteran and a former state senator in Tuesday’s runoff, according to the Associated Press.
Jack will run in the Nov. 5 General Election against Democratic nominee Maura Keller, a Fayette County nuclear medicine technologist. Republican incumbent Drew Ferguson decided to not seek reelection.
At 7:50 p.m., the AP declared Jack as the winner, leading 12,090-6,604 (66.6%-33.4%) with 51% of the estimated vote counted.
In the May 21 primary, Jack received 32,779 votes (46.6%) and Dugan 17,484 (24.9%).
This story was originally published June 18, 2024 at 7:04 PM.
