Several down-ballot statewide races will also go to a runoff

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The runoff election will be held June 16.

Credit: GPB / File

While the gubernatorial and senate primary races dominated headlines this week, several other statewide races are also headed to a runoff. 

Both parties’ lieutenant governor races will be decided in a runoff.

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, of Cumming, and former Senate President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy will compete for the Republican nomination. 

Kennedy was the top vote-getter in the race, with 27% of the vote. He represented a Macon-area state Senate district from 2015 to 2025 when he resigned to focus on his campaign, and served as President Pro Tempore from 2023 until 2025. 

Dolezal won about 23% of the vote. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2019 to represent his Forsyth County district and is still serving. Dolezal's campaign made headlines earlier this year when he released an animated ad depicting Muslims terrorizing white Georgians and released it on social media with the text "Keep Georgia Sharia Free."

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Josh McLaurin, of Sandy Springs, and former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes, of Duluth, will be competing in their party's lieutenant governor runoff. 

McLaurin finished the primary in first place with 41% of the vote, and Parkes just under 40%. 

McLaurin jumped into the race first and has served his Atlanta district in the state Senate since 2023. He served in the state House before running for Senate. 

Parkes jumped into the race mid-legislative session after Dolezal released his controversial campaign ad. She resigned from the Senate shortly after announcing her campaign, and faced criticism for leaving her district without representation for part of the legislative session. She won her Senate seat in 2022 and is the first Muslim woman elected to Georgia's Senate. 

Both candidates were in the progressive wing of their party while in the Senate. 

The Democratic and Republican Secretary of State races are also undecided. 

Former Fulton County Judge Penny Brown Reynolds and Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett advanced to the runoff for the Democratic ticket. Reynolds won 42% of the vote in the primary, and Barrett won 35%. 

Reynolds also served in the Biden Administration in the Department of Agriculture. Barrett has represented District 3 on the Fulton County Commission since 2023. 

On the Republican side, state Rep. Tim Flemming, of Covington, and former state Rep. Vernon Jones will face off on the Republican ballot. Flemming came in first with 39% of the vote, and Jones came in second with 27%.

Flemming has represented Morgan County in the state House since 2023, and chaired a study committee on election procedures last year. 

Jones represented DeKalb County in the state House from 1993 to 2001, and from 2017 to 2021. He also served as DeKalb County CEO in between his terms. Towards the end of his career as a state representative, Jones switched party affiliations from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. He's also run for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and announced a challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, but suspended his campaign before qualifying to appear on the ballot. 

Both Attorney General races were decided on election night. Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland, of McDonough, and Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller, of Atlanta, will be on the ballot in November.

The runoff will be held on June 16, and early voting starts on June 8.