NEWTON COUNTY – A new coroner has been elected, as Kimberly Griggs knocked off incumbent Tommy Davis on Tuesday night.

In what ended up as the closest race of the local slate, Griggs originally trailed during the first batch of votes, trailing by around 600-700 votes. She later surpassed Davis’ vote total during the second batch of updates, taking the lead and not looking back.

Griggs wound up with 53.24 percent of the overall vote, equating to 30,692 votes. Davis ended with 26,959 votes at 46,76 percent.

For Davis, this is the second time he has lost the coroner election in as many election cycles. Davis originally lost the coroner race in 2020 to Democratic challenger Dorothea Bailey-Butts. Bailey-Butts later resigned, leading to Davis returning as coroner.

Griggs will take office in January. The Covington News has reached out to Griggs for comment, but have not immediately heard back.