NEWTON COUNTY – Qualifying has officially concluded for the upcoming general primary races for both state and Newton county seats.
Races for the Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC), Tax Commissioner, Coroner, Clerk of Superior Court, Sheriff, Judge of the Probate Court and the Newton County Board of Education (BOE) have all been set through the March 8 qualifying dates.
Cowan will not seek re-election
The biggest surprise from qualifying came out of District 5.
Despite announcing his plans for re-election, Ronnie Cowan will not run for re-election for the District 5 seat of the Newton County BOC.
Cowan initially announced his plans to run for the District 5 seat once again back in September but, after qualifying for the May 21 primary races ended on March 8, Cowan’s name was absent from the list.
Cowan confirmed to The Covington News on Monday that he was not seeking re-election.
When asked why he opted to change his mind, his answer was simple.
“It’s just time for me to move on to something else,” Cowan told The News. “There are good people out there and it’s time to hand the baton to someone else and let them run with it.”
The current District 5 commissioner initially came into office back in 2016, succeeding Levie Maddox. He was re-elected in 2020 for a second term.
Two candidates for the Republican party qualified on Friday – LeAnne Long and William Keith Ellis. Ellis was formerly the chairman of the BOC from 2012-2016.
On the Democratic side, Tiijon DaCosta was the sole qualifier.
The general primary election will take place on May 21, with the general election taking place on Nov. 5.
In an interview with The News, Cowan thanked his supporters and the citizens of Newton County for his time on the board.
“I appreciate your support over the last eight years, the two terms I’ve been in there,” Cowan said. “I think the county is in much better shape than it was when we were in 2016 and it’s been a pleasure to work with everyone.”
Chairman is a two-man race
That race for the BOC chair person stays between two candidates. Incumbent Marcello Banes and current Newton County tax commissioner Marcus Jordan are the Democratic candidates for the seat.
The race will be decided on May 21, as there were no Republican candidates.
District 1 sees late surprise
Current incumbent Stan Edwards will run unopposed on the Republican side of the primary, but he will not be alone in vying for the seat altogether.
Denise L. Williams announced late on Friday her plans to run for the District 1 seat. Williams will run unopposed in the Democratic primary race and will face Edwards for the seat in November.
District 3 is officially a three-person race
Incumbent Alana Sanders announced her plans to run for re-election on Friday.
Sanders joins fellow Democratic candidates Stephanie Lindsey and Willie Arthur Smith as the three vying for the District 3 seat. No Republicans qualified for the seat.
Tax commissioner seat will be a four way Democratic race
No surprises came on Friday in regards to the tax commissioner race.
Avis Williams, Brent Bennett, Margaret Smith and Marilyn Williams all officially qualified for the tax commissioner seat after previously announcing their campaigns.
All four are Democrats and will look to replace the incumbent Jordan who is running for BOC chairman.
Clerk of Superior Court remains a two way race
Two Democratic candidates, John Bryant and Stephanie Finnie have officially qualified for the Clerk of Superior Court position.
The two will look to replace incumbent Linda Hays, who will not seek re-election after serving in office for more than 40 years.
No surprises in coroner race
The race for coroner saw no surprises come on Friday, as three candidates will seek the position.
Incumbent and sole Republican candidate Tommy Davis will look to remain coroner.
On the Democratic side, Gabriel White and Kimberly Griggs will face-off in the May 21 general primary election.
One candidate for each party in sheriff race
The sheriff race will remain a two way race as incumbent and Democratic candidate Ezell Brown will go up against Republican candidate Justin Hipps.
No other candidates qualified for either party, so the race for sheriff will officially take place on Nov. 5.
Several local races go unopposed
Four seats on the local election level went completely unopposed.
District 2 and District 4 BOE representatives Eddie Johnson and Anderson Bailey, respectively, will remain in office after they went unopposed on both the Republican and Democratic sides.
Melanie Bell will also remain judge of the Probate Court as no one ran against her on either side, too.
Lastly, Randy McGinley will remain the Alcovy Judicial Circuit District Attorney, as he ran unopposed across the board.
State races
Qualifying for a number of state races also wrapped up on Friday.
In the race for the Georgia House of Representatives seat 113, Karla Hooper and incumbent Sharon Henderson qualified on the Democratic side.
For Georgia House of Representatives seat 114, Republican Tim Fleming will run unopposed.
