Bryan County residents will see some new and familiar faces after voters had their say in Tuesday’s primary election.
More than 5,000 voters turned out to cast ballots, choosing Republican nominations for the local contested races for sheriff, tax commissioner, clerk of courts and District 3 county commissioner.
According to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, incumbent Clyde Smith has won the Republican nomination for sheriff with 2,889 votes over challenger Glenn Christian, who received 1,357 votes.
“I was very happy with the results and I will continue to do the job the people of Bryan County have elected me to do,” Smith said Wednesday. “I am very humbled by their confidence.”
Christian’s spirits remained high on Wednesday.
“Obviously I’m disappointed but I’m very optimistic about the future,” Christian said. “I’m not going to change anything I’ve done in the past. We ran a clean campaign and a clean race and I think I have a lot of supporters that came out and voted and I wish to thank all of them—my family and friends as well.”
Carrol Ann Coleman won the Republican nomination for Bryan County Tax Commissioner. Coleman received 2,278 votes over Carla Gardner, who received 1,379.Delete-Merge Upbodycopy
"I am excited and thrilled for the opportunity to be Bryan County’s new tax commissioner," Coleman said. "With Debbie Newman’s retiring, I know I have big shoes to fill and will work hard to earn the confidence and trust that I was shown by this election. I am thankful to my friends who helped me with the campaign and to everyone who voted for me. I am looking forward to January and being the best tax commissioner I can be."
Gardner expressed disappointment, but was very thankful for the support she recevied.
"I felt like I ran a hard, honest campaign and I appreciate the support of everybody for their contributions, donations and their well wishes and time and voters that supported me. It was definitely an eye opening experience and lot of work went into it. I hope that the tax office runs good under the new leadership."
Bryan County Clerk of Court incumbent Rebecca Crowe also won the Republican nomination, receiving 3,120 votes over challenger Haley Beeson, who received 1,101 votes.
Crowe was excited and “overwhelmed” on Wednesday, and said she was thankful for her family friends and co-workers that helped with her campaign.
“I’m very excited that I can continue to serve the citizens of Bryan County for another four years and I’m humbled that they have put their faith and trust in me to continue to serve them,” she said.
Beeson took to her Facebook page to give her followers an update on unofficial results Tuesday night.
“Unofficial numbers are Crowe 3,032 Beeson 1,080,” she wrote. “Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and for the 1,000 of you who voted for me. You guys rock!”
Taking the Republican nomination for District 3 County Commissioner was Steven Myers. Myers received 513 votes over Billy Albritton, who received 349 votes.
Myers said Wednesday he felt great and would probably relax for a few days.
“I’m going to come back and learn a lot about county government and how I can go about better serving the people of Bryan County,” he said.
Albritton said Wednesday he wanted to congratulate Myers on a clean campaign, but was a little disappointed with voter turnout.
“I was disappointed with the poor voter turnout,” he said. “But what happened is what happened. Life goes on and I’m going to keep doing the same things I’ve always done. I’m not going to disappear.”
On the Democratic ballot, the nomination for District 1 U.S. Representative went to Lesli Rae Messinger. Messigner received 304 votes over Nathan Russo, who received 243.
For a complete list of results, visit www.sos.georgia.gov.