Let the campaigns begin.
Candidates for federal, state, and local offices made it official last week by paying qualifying fees and signing on the dotted line.
Voters will have plenty of candidates to choose from in the May 19 primary election.
Locally, Greene County voters will choose one of four Republican candidates seeking the District 1 seat on the Greene County Board of Commissioners, including Terry Lawler, Jason Easley, William Myers, and Keith Eley. Since no Democrat qualified, the winner of the primary takes the seat.
In District 3, Republican incumbent Dee Lindsey is running unopposed in the primary.
Two seats on the Board of Education are up for grabs, with incumbent Democrat Regina Chester running unopposed for the District 3 seat and incumbent Republican Steve Kilgore facing a challenge from Democrat Kristine M. Mapp.
Two candidates have been nominated for the Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor position in the Piedmont District: Andrew Dyar and Carly Arata.
In Morgan County, incumbent Republican Blake McCormack will face a primary challenge from Alan Ludlow for the District 2 seat, while Carl Jones is running unopposed in District 1.
Republican incumbent Andrew Ainslie III is running unopposed for the District 4 seat on the Board of Education, and Cory Seymour is running unopposed for the District 5 seat being vacated by Dr. Forest Pagett.
Either Catie Young of Oglethorpe County or Lorraine Violet Thomas of Columbia County will win the Democratic primary and oppose incumbent Republican Lee Anderson, who is running unopposed for the District 24 seat in the Georgia Senate. District 24 includes Greene County.
Incumbent Republican Trey Rhodes of Greene County will face opposition in State House District 124 from Democrat Melanie Michele Miller, also of Greene County, in November.
In Morgan County, voters will also have to wait until November to choose between Republican Brett Austin Dunn of Newton County and Democrat Eric W. Lee for the District 42 seat in the Senate currently occupied by Brian Strickland, who is running for Attorney General.
Republicans Brett Larry Mauldin and Wendell Delano McNeal, both of Morgan County, are competing for the District 114 seat in the Georgia House and will be opposed by Democrat Michael Caw of Newton County in November. One of the three candidates will take over for incumbent Tim Fleming, who is running for Secretary of State.
Five Republican challengers have thrown their hats into the ring to face Incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat running unopposed in the primary. Candidates include Derek Dooley, Michael Collins (currently representing District 10 in the U.S. House), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Jonathan McColumn, and John Francis Coyne.
Since Collins has set his sights on the six-year senate term, six candidates have emerged for his District 10 seat, including Republicans Houston Gaines of Clarke County, Jeffrey Dwayne Baker of Oglethorpe County, and Ryan Milsap of Newton County. The three Democrats on the primary ballot are Alexandra “Lexy” Doherty of Clarke County, Pamela “Pam” Delancy of Henry County, and John B. Dority of Oglethorpe County.
There is no shortage of candidates in Georgia’s statewide elections, which include the offices of governor, lt. governor, secretary of state, state school superintendent, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, insurance and fire safety commissioner, labor commissioner, and two seats on the Public Service Commission.