Candidate withdraws from race for seat on Muscogee County School District Board
A candidate who qualified last week to run for a seat on the Muscogee County School District Board has withdrawn.
Jacob Patrick withdrew from the race for the board’s District 2 seat, Muscogee County Elections and Registration Office manager Talisha Austin told the Ledger-Enquirer.
That means only three of the five seats up for election on the nine-member board will have more than one candidate on the May 19 nonpartisan ballot. Here is the complete list of candidates seeking a four-year term:
- Nickie Tillery, District 2 (incumbent)
- Naomi Buckner, District 4 (incumbent)
- Mark Cantrell, District 6 (incumbent)
- Bob Roth, District 6
- Margot Schley, District 8 (incumbent)
- Joshua Smith, District 8
- Sadiyah Abdullah, countywide at-large
- Kia Chambers, countywide at-large (incumbent)
- Kevin Miller, countywide at-large
Some candidates for the school board, as well as Columbus mayor and Columbus Council, filed a declaration of intention to accept campaign contributions months before the March 2-6 qualifying period. Patrick, however, didn’t submit such a document and was among eight candidates for local offices who qualified on the final day.
Patrick declined to comment when the Ledger-Enquirer asked him Wednesday why he withdrew his candidacy.
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 1:45 PM.
