ATLANTA — State Rep. Bee Nguyen is advancing to a runoff in the Democratic primary for Georgia secretary of state.
It was too early to tell which of the other four Democratic candidates she will face in the June 21 contest. They are Floyd Griffin, a state senator and former mayor of the city of Milledgeville; Michael Owens, former Cobb County Democratic Party chairman; John Eaves, former Fulton County Commission chairman; and Dee Dawkins-Haigler, a former state representative from DeKalb County.
Nguyen has served in the state House since winning a 2017 special election to succeed Stacey Abrams in a district that includes parts of DeKalb County just east of the Fulton County line and some parts of the city of Atlanta. Nguyen is also a vice chair of the state Democratic Party.
With former President Donald Trump and his allies pushing false claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia, Nguyen has highlighted her work to debunk false narratives. All five Democratic candidates have championed voting rights and criticized a sweeping election law passed by Republicans in the General Assembly in 2021.
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Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas and Minnesota are holding primary elections Tuesday.
HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
— Kemp wins Georgia GOP governor’s race in stinging rebuke of Trump
— Georgia US Senate race will pit Warnock against Walker
— Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger defeats Trump ally
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wins GOP primary in test of her divisive politics
— Unopposed Stacey Abrams still a target in Republican primary
— Texas Attorney General Paxton defeats Bush in GOP runoff
— Ex-Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders wins GOP bid for Arkansas governor
Follow all AP stories on the midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections.
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was a top target of former President Donald Trump, has won the Republican primary as he seeks reelection.
Raffensperger beat three challengers, including Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who had criticized his handling of the 2020 election.
Raffensperger was among Trump’s chief targets when the former president turned his wrath on top Georgia officials for not taking steps to overturn his narrow election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. Trump insisted without proof that victory had been stolen from him through widespread voter fraud.
In a now-notorious January 2021 phone call, Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” enough votes to overturn President Biden’s victory. That led a prosecutor in Atlanta to open an investigation into whether Trump and others tried to illegally influence the state’s election. That investigation is ongoing.
Hice embraced false claims about the 2020 election being stolen and objected to Georgia’s electoral votes being counted for Biden.
The other two candidates in the Republican primary were former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and former probate and magistrate judge T.J. Hudson.
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ATLANTA — Businessman Mike Collins and Vernon Jones, a former Democrat endorsed by Donald Trump, will compete in a runoff election to decide the Republican nominee for an open congressional seat in Georgia.
Collins and Jones were the top finishers out of eight Republican primary candidates running in the 10th District east of Atlanta. Both contenders fell short of winning a majority of the vote, forcing a runoff June 21.
The race for the conservative-leaning seat drew a crowded field after Republican Rep. Jody Hice announced he was forgoing reelection to challenge Georgia’s secretary of state — a race Hice jumped into with Trump’s blessing.
Collins owns a trucking company and is the son of former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, who died in 2018.
As a Democrat, Jones served in the Georgia legislature and as the elected CEO of Atlanta’s DeKalb County before switching parties last year and becoming an outspoken Trump supporter. Jones dropped out…
Read More: 2022 primaries: Live updates on May 24 races