As the apparent third-place finisher with 21.1 percent of votes, Simpson likely won’t be in the Aug. 26 runoff for the Senate District 13 Republican nomination to fill the vacancy when Sen. Joseph Carter, R-Tifton, withdrew to run for a Superior Court judgeship. There is no Democratic opposition for the post.
In the Aug. 26 primary runoff will be fellow former Superior Court Judge John Dickey Crosby, also of Tifton, who carried Tift County and won 33.6 percent of votes overall in the special primary, and Lee County Commissioner Wally Roberts, who carried Lee County and won 22.5 percent of votes overall.
Only about 5,344 voters in the District’s eight counties cast ballots in the Republican primary.
Elections Supervisor Veronica Johnson called the turnout “dismal” in Lee County, where only 15.67 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
Simpson, who was a finalist to fill a vacancy on the Georgia Supreme Court and was appointed in 2005 by Gov. Sonny Perdue to fill a vacant Tift Circuit Superior Court seat, said he was “disappointed” by his lack of support in his home county of Tift.
“I was disappointed there and Lee County,” where he finished fourth, with 222 votes, but ahead of Crosby. “I thought I would do better in Lee County because of my experience — Lee County is a very strong grassroots Republican county and I had the real grassroots Republican credentials, but I guess we didn’t have time to get the message out.”
Simpson said he hasn’t decided if he will endorse either Crosby or Roberts, but said he will take a much-needed vacation and “let the smoke clear.”
Under Republican party rules, Simpson had to resign his post as Eighth Congressional District party chairman to run for Senate, but he may consider returning to the post, where the party is working on the campaign of nominee Rick Goddard, who is running against Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon.
“That’s the grassroots side of the Republican party. You can’t hold a position in the party and at the same time hold public office. You no longer have that standing in the party as a voting member.”
Simpson originally had planned to run for the Superior Court Judgeship now held by Gary McCorvey, but chose to run for Senate instead after Carter and Melanie Cross, both former law partners of his, announced they wanted the judgeship, he said Wednesday. He also knows a third candidate in the Nov. 4 nonpartisan election, Tifton Circuit Assistant District Attorney Ronnie Wheeler well, he said.
The two counties in the 13th District with results showing still outstanding in the Senate race, Crisp and Turner, have only a couple of provisional ballots left to count, elections officials in both counties said.
In Turner, where fourth-place finisher Horace Hudgins carried with 36 votes, voters were occupied with a Democratic runoff for sheriff between incumbent Randy Kendrick and challenger Roy Wiley.
Wiley won that runoff, with 1,072 votes to Kendrick’s 891.
In neighboring Worth County, voters also busy with Democratic runoffs cast only 309 Republican special primary ballots. Simpson carried Worth, with 94 votes, to Crosby’s 90, Hudgins’ 62, Roberts’ 55 and Bob Usry’s 8.
In the runoff, Worth Democratic voters retained Sheriff Freddie Tompkins, who has no Republican opposition in November. Tompkins won 1,437 or 58.3 percent of votes to challenger Mike Hill’s 1,028, or 41.7 percent.