Vernon Jones and Tim Fleming will face each other in a runoff after neither secured the required 50% threshold in Georgia’s Republican primary for secretary of state on Tuesday.
The crowded GOP race also included Gabriel Sterling, Kelvin King, and Ted Metz, while Democrats Cam Ashling, Dana Barrett, Adrian Consonery Jr., and Penny Brown Reynolds competed in their party’s primary for the state’s top election administration post.
The election sets up a June 16 runoff that will determine who advances to the November general election in one of the country’s most closely watched battleground states.
The secretary of state’s office oversees voter registration, ballot administration, and election certification in Georgia, making the race a key focal point in ongoing national debates over election integrity and voting laws.
Those debates continue to reflect tensions stemming from the 2020 presidential election, including claims by President Donald Trump that the vote was improperly handled.
Sterling entered the race with strong name recognition after serving as Georgia’s chief operating officer in the secretary of state’s office, where he defended the state’s 2020 election process.
Jones, a former Democratic lawmaker who later aligned with Trump, campaigned as a vocal critic of Georgia’s election system and positioned himself as a strong supporter of stricter voting rules.
Fleming, who previously worked in the secretary of state’s office during the tenure of current Governor Brian Kemp, ran on a platform focused on tightening election procedures and strengthening safeguards.
King, a contractor and former U.S. Senate candidate, is also the husband of State Election Board member and conservative commentator Janelle King.
Metz, who previously ran as the Libertarian Party’s 2022 gubernatorial nominee, rounded out the Republican field.
On the Democratic side, candidates continued their own primary contests for the same office as both parties prepare for the November general election.
Meanwhile, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who gained national attention after resisting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential results in Georgia, is currently running for governor.
