ATLANTA – Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller conceded defeat Friday in a tight race for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
With 100% of the vote counted, state Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, received 50.07% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff with Miller, R-Gainesville, who finished second in a four-way race with 31.12% of the vote.
“I hoped for a different outcome in the election, but the people have spoken, and the votes have now been counted,” Miller said Friday. “Earlier today, I spoke with and congratulated the victor, Burt Jones, and wish him well. I look forward to supporting Burt in the upcoming general election.”
Jones doesn’t yet know who he will face in the general election in November. The Democratic nomination will be decided in a June 21 runoff between former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall and Charlie Bailey.
Hall won 31.3% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, a contest that featured nine candidates. Bailey finished second to make the runoff with 17.6% of the vote.
Current Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, is not seeking reelection.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.