Incumbent Dougherty County sheriff, state officials maintain seats

ALBANY — In what will no doubt go down as one of the oddest elections in the region’s history, what with the coronavirus pandemic keeping candidates from pressing the flesh or, in most cases, even making contact with voters, incumbents ruled the day in Dougherty County during Tuesday’s primaries.

In perhaps the most anticipated race of the primaries, incumbent Sheriff Kevin Sproul easily held off the challenge of retired law enforcement officer Sabrina Lewis, and a pair of incumbent state officials — Sen. Freddie Powell Sims and Rep. CaMia Hopson — reclaimed their seats.

During an election day that saw the state’s top election official — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — in the words of one city official “throw elections personnel under the bus” when problems arose in some cities with the state’s new voting machines, there were no such concerns in Dougherty County.

“About the only problem we had reported was that the tape ran out in one machine, and we had to send a technician to replace it,” Dougherty Elections Supervisor Ginger Nickerson said just after polls closed at 7 p.m. “Really, the only complaints we had were from people who had to sign affidavits that they had not voted by absentee ballot when they showed up to vote in person.

“And we had some of the issues we usually have with the primaries: especially people choosing a ballot from one party when they wanted to vote for a candidate that’s on the other party’s ballot. But that’s the beauty of the new machines: Voters get a chance to review their ballot, and if they decide they want to make a change, they can do so.”

With all 28 of the county’s precincts reporting, Sproul received 3,322 votes to Lewis’ 2,213, earning 61 percent of the votes cast on the Democratic ballot. There was no Republican qualifier, giving Sproul his fourth term in office.

Hopson held off a challenge by former Albany City Commissioner Henry Mathis, edging the veteran politician 1,473 votes to 1,287 to earn her second term as House District 153 representative. Mathis had finished third in a seven-person race for Albany mayor last year. Sims had an easier time retaining her Senate District 12 seat, outpolling political newcomer Edward Ball 3,751-1,547.

Neither Sims nor Hopson was allowed, under state law, to raise campaign funds during the primary race because the state legislature has not officially finished its 2020 session. The General Assembly shut down over concerns about the coronavirus with 11 days left in the session. The legislature will return on Monday to finish out the session and present a balanced budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

In other, uncontested races in Dougherty County, Tracy Taylor claimed the Senate District 12 Republican nomination and will face Sims in the Nov. 3 general election; and Gerald Greene and Joyce Barlow claimed the Republican and Democratic nods, respectively, in House District 151. The two will face each other Nov. 3.

The uncontested races that were, in essence, formalities, saw Ed Newsome claim the District 1 Dougherty Commission seat held for the past 20-plus years by Lamar Hudgins after Hudgins announced his plans to step down from the board, and Dougherty Coroner Michael Fowler won without opposition.

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