ALBANY — A senior judge from Tifton received a huge show of support from his home county to earn a trip to Atlanta after defeating Lee County Commissioner Wally Roberts in Tuesday’s runoff for State Senate District 13.
Unofficial and incomplete results from Tuesday’s runoff have John Crosby beating Wally Roberts with 69.7 percent of the vote, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Election’s Division. With 96 percent of the precincts reporting, Crosby has 2,340 votes with Roberts receiving 1,016 votes.
The results won’t be considered official until next week, according to the site.
A happy Crosby said his first emotion was one of relief and gratitude to the voters in the seven-county 13th State Senate District.
“I’m feeling pretty good about things, I’d just like to express my appreciation for all of those who came out to vote, it’s one of our most important civic duties.”
With 96 percent of the vote in before presstime, Roberts credited the Crosby victory on a strong voter turnout in Tifton.
“Well, I lost,” Roberts said. “Tift County beat me. I was ahead in Lee, but Tift County, they turned out 1,800 voters over there.”
Roberts, who will complete a term on the Lee County Commission in December, said he liked his opponent.
Crosby is “a nice guy, and I like him. I lost to a good guy and his county turned out for him. My county didn’t turn out for me.”
According to the Secretary of State’s Web site, Crosby carried Ben Hill, Crisp, Irwin, Turner and Worth County. In Tift, he overwhelmingly beat Roberts — 1,737-85.
Roberts beat Crosby in his native Lee County, receiving 761 votes to 323 for Crosby.
Wilcox County’s three precincts showed no votes, according to the Web site.
Crosby will replace Sen. Joseph Carter, R-Tifton, who stepped away from a guaranteed reelection bid, to challenge for a Superior Judge seat in Tifton.
Crosby says that he’ll consult with Carter and other legislators before heading to Atlanta when the General Assembly convenes in January.
“I’m going up green as a gourd, that’s for sure, but I’m going to go talk with (Sen.) Joseph (Carter), (State Rep.) Austin (Scott) and (State Rep.) Jay Roberts and work together with them to learn the ropes,” he said.
Crosby says that he plans on working with the leaders of the senate to bring the interests of his constituents to the forefront, including economic development in the district.
“Like I’ve said all along, I really don’t have an agenda. I just plan on working myself into the system, meeting those in power and working with them to benefit the people in my area,” Crosby said.
Roberts said he was unsure what he’d do in the future, but hadn’t ruled out a run for some other elected office.
“I’m retired; I’m just going to run my trailer park and continue to live like I’ve been doing,” he said.
Roberts and Crosby were forced into a runoff after neither managed to get more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary. The two edged out Rusty Simpson, Bob Usry and Horace Hudgins.