Columbus mayoral race: latest updated results in 2026 runoff election
Columbus residents will decide who will be the next mayor in today’s runoff election between former city manager Isaiah Hugley and Columbus Councilor Joanne Cogle.
Hugley led the six-candidate field vying for the office in the May 19 election with 45% of the vote. With 25% of the vote, Cogle qualified for the runoff by finishing second. Since neither candidate received a majority of the vote in the election, the race moved to a runoff.
Here are the latest results from the Muscogee County Elections and Registration Office, representing the advance in-person votes, absentee by-mail votes and all 25 precincts on election day, although yet to be certified:
Hugley 16,309 (51.58%)
Cogle 15,312 (48.42%)
The winner will be sworn into office in January and succeed Mayor Skip Henderson, who couldn’t run for reelection because city law limits the mayor to two four-year terms.
The results of this election have the potential to make history for Columbus. If Hugley is elected as mayor, he would be the first Black candidate to be elected mayor in the city’s 198-year history.
A.J. McClung was considered the first Black mayor of a major Southern city when, as mayor pro tem, he served for 52 1/2 days as interim mayor of Columbus after J.R. Allen died in a plane crash in 1973.
Hugley worked 41 years for the Columbus Consolidated Government, including 20 years as city manager, before the council voted 7-3 May 27, 2025, to fire him.
During his campaign, Hugley promised to lean on his decades of experience working for the city, working with Choose Columbus to create job opportunities, advocating for a plan to have I-14 run through Columbus, and investing in infrastructure to revitalize communities.
If Cogle is elected, she would be the second woman to be mayor in the city’s history, following Teresa Tomlinson (2011-19)
Cogle, who owns Crossfit CSG gym, is among the councilors who voted yes to fire Hugley.
She promised voters an easier process for zoning and permitting to encourage small businesses, continue the improvements Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis has led in the police department, and strengthen ties to Columbus State University and Fort Benning to ensure the city is in a better financial position.
The winner of the runoff will be sworn into office in January.
Although the mayor of Columbus officially is nonpartisan, the Republican and Democratic parties have been involved in these campaigns.
In February, the Ledger-Enquirer reported Cogle fired her campaign manager, a self-described Christian Nationalist who worked for Republican candidates in Georgia after criticism of her choice became public.
Then in May, the L-E reported the Muscogee County Democratic Committee endorsed Hugley.
This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 7:56 PM.
