Hopefuls qualify for primaries

Local candidates make it official for county / state, races

Qualifying for local races wrapped up Friday as incumbents and challengers alike gear up for May’s primary elections.

Qualifying began Monday, when three candidates threw their hats in the ring before the end of the day: Lee Bradford, District 4 Commissioner, and Jeremy Adams, District 5 Commissioner, as well as newcomer Danny Nelson, who is running for the District 1 seat on the Walton County Board of Commissioners.

A number of other candidates qualified over the course of the week before Friday’s deadline for local seats on the WCBOC and the Walton County Board of Education.

One incumbent who did not qualify, however, was Amarie Warren, who currently holds the District 1 seat on the WCBOC.

Warren was appointed to the seat last year to finish our her husband’s unfinished term on the BOC after he passed away, but she announced Tuesday she would not seek another term after she finished this year, leaving Nelson to run unopposed for the seat.

Bradford, however, will have competition, as he will have to defend his District 4 seat against Republican Dallas Haupt.

Three incumbents on the WCBOE will run unopposed. Angenette Brooks will be the only name on the local Democratic ballot as she runs as the only contender for District 1.

Karen Brown, District 2, and Tom Gibson, District 5, will also run unopposed in the primary and will have no qualified competition on the ballot in November.

In state races, state Rep. Rey Martinez, R-114, is the only Republican in the race for the seat, while Walton County investment advisor Scott Jackson will run for the seat in the Democrat primary.

State Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-112, will also be alone on the Republican ballot, but will face Democrat Lisa Maria, a Loganville respiratory care practitioner, after May’s primary is over.

Three Republicans will vie for the District 46 state Senate seat, including Marc McMain, Douglas McKillip and Michael Broun. Ray Smith and William Gaulden Jr. will run on the Democratic ballot.

Bret Dunn will run for the District 42 state Senate seat as a Republican, with Eric Lee Sr. on the ballot as a Democrat.

The General Primary/Nonpartisan Election will take place on May 19, 2026. Early voting will run from April 27 to May 15. Any runoff necessary will take place on June 16 with early voting to comments as soon as possible but no later than June 8. The General Election will take place on Nov. 3, 2026 with early voting to run from Oct. 13 to 30.