Georgia Incumbents Prevail in House Primaries, Runoffs in June

ATLANTA, Ga.—Georgia’s voters had a chance to change who occupies four of its seats in the House of Representatives during the state’s May 21 general primary as candidates fight to usurp three incumbents and fill one vacancy.

While several congressional primaries were decided on election night, three will advance to runoff elections slated for June 18. Every incumbent that was challenged emerged victorious.

The Republican primary set to fill the vacancy for the 3rd Congressional District created by Republican Drew Ferguson’s retirement featured five candidates, including former Trump adviser Brian Jack.

After earning more than 46 percent of the vote, Mr. Jack will advance to a runoff election against former State Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan.

Georgia requires that a primary winner earn more than 50 percent of the vote in order to be declared the winner. If a candidate fails to do that, the top two vote earners will participate in a run-off four weeks later. Early voting will commence the week before.

In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump said that he encouraged Mr. Jack to run for the vacant seat in the House of Representatives and praised him as “a man of loyalty, honesty, and integrity.”

“He represents a new generation of leadership, and he will be a great congressman, working with me and other Republicans to fix the damage Joe Biden has done to our country,” President Trump said.

The other Republican candidates also included former State Senator Mike Crane, a former police officer named Jim Bennett, and former State Representative Phillip Singleton.

Maura Keller beat Val Almonord in a separate Democratic primary, with The Associated Press calling the results at 11:16 p.m.

Meanwhile, incumbent Democrat David Scott held off six challengers for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District. Despite health concerns, The Associated Press named him the winner of his primary at 9:46 p.m. With 96 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Scott earned more than 57 percent.

Challengers included Mark Baker, Marcus Flowers, Brian Johnson, Uloma Kama, Rashid Malik, and Karen Rene.

Mr. Scott will now face Johnathan Chavez, who was named the winner of a Republican primary by the Associated Press at 9:32 p.m.

In Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Lucy McBath succeeded in winning her party’s nomination despite significant redistricting that resulted in her representing a predominantly black district. The Associated Press called the primary race at 7:36 p.m.

Ms. McBath was challenged by Jerica Richardson and Manisha Thomas.

Republican Jeff Criswell passed the primary uncontested and will look to flip Ms. McBath’s seat red.

Incumbent Rep. Barry Loudermilk retained the GOP nomination for his seat in Georgia’s 11th Congressional District after being challenged by Lori Marie Pesta and Mike Pons. He was declared the winner by The Associated Press at 7:42 p.m.

Katy Stamper beat Antonio Daza in a separate Democratic primary for the chance to flip the seat. The Associated Press called the race at 9:38 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Peach State’s general primaries also revealed official challengers to incumbent representatives left uncontested by their own party.

Wayne Johnson and Chuck Hand advanced to a runoff election after a separate Republican primary to be his party’s challenger to Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District’s uncontested Democratic incumbent, Sanford Bishop.

Darrius Butler beat Vince Watkins to be the Democratic nominee to challenge Republican incumbent Austin Scott for Georgia’s 8th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the primary at 8:16 p.m.

Democrat Lexy Doherty won the chance to challenge Mike Collins for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District. The Associate Press called the primary at 9:54 p.m.

Elizabeth Johnson was declared the winner of her Democratic primary by the Associated Press at 9:33 p.m. She will challenge uncontested Republican Rick Allen for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District.

Democrats Clarence Blalock and Shawn Harris will advance to a runoff election for the chance to challenge Marjorie Taylor Greene for Georgia’s 14th congressional district in November. With 97 percent of the vote counted by 11:41 p.m., less than one percentage point separated the two.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.