Area challengers are already lining up to unseat incumbents in next year’s elections.
It’s not too soon to announce, said schools activist Monique Braswell, who recently unveiled her campaign for District 5 on Richmond County Board of Education, a nonpartisan contest decided on the November 2024 ballot.
“I want people to be excited about the school board races,” Braswell said. “We get these kids far before they’re even eligible to vote, so why isn’t a school board race in the community just as important as all the other races?”
“I wanted to get my name out there in that district, because there are so many people that don’t know that I’m in their district,” Braswell said.
There are five Richmond County school board seats on the November ballot and five Augusta Commission seats on the May ballot. All 10 are having their first elections based on new district maps redrawn last year.
Redistricting added some 11 subdivisions to District 5, mostly in the booming area near Grovetown
Braswell is challenging Patsy Scott, the retired nurse preceptor first elected in 2009 to the seat held by her late husband. Scott, who garnered 55% of votes in 2020, did not return a message seeking comment about her plan to run.
Races to be decided May 21
Arriving much sooner than the school board elections is Georgia’s March 12, 2024, presidential preference primary and the May 21, 2024, state general primary and nonpartisan election.
The general primary date is when all Augusta voters will decide a referendum on giving the mayor a vote. It would mark a shift in power for the city’s mayor, currently Garnett Johnson, by allowing him to forge coalitions with five other commissioners to pass or defeat measures.
All nonpartisan Augusta elections except the school board races also are held on the date of the primary. For Augusta, that means five commission seats – districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 – are on the ballot.
Of those holding the seats, Jordan Johnson, Catherine Smith McKnight, Bobby Williams, Sean Frantom and Francine Scott, only Frantom is blocked by term limits from running again.
The primary is when Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams will face his only announced challenger, Democrat Amber Brantley.
It’s also when any of Augusta’s Democratic constitutional officers, such as sheriff, coroner, tax commissioner, probate judge, state court solicitor and clerk of courts, could face challengers. With about two-thirds of Richmond County voters tending to vote Democrat, the primaries would likely decide the races.
The nonpartisan judgeships held by three Augusta Circuit Superior Court judges – Amanda Heath, Danny Craig and John Flythe – will appear on the May primary ballot, as will the Richmond County State Court judgeships held by Bo Hunter and Kellie Kenner McIntyre. In Columbia County, the judgeship held by Sheryl Jolly will as well.
In Columbia County, where Democratic candidates are rare, the May Republican primary will likely decide two county commission elections and any others in which no Democrats compete.
The commission seats up are District 2, held by Don Skinner, and District 3, held by Gary Richardson.
Also coming open are the nonpartisan Columbia County school board seats held by Chairman David Dekle, District 1 member David Alalof and District 4 member Lee Ann Meyer.
Allen draws Democratic challenge
Among races decided Nov. 5, 2024, Congressman Rick Allen has attracted a Democratic challenger.
Daniel Jackson, a retired Army warrant officer and Augusta native, is campaigning to unseat Allen in a district the Princeton Gerrymandering Project estimates is 55.6% Republican.
A second Democratic challenger, Army systems analyst Rashaad Jones, recently withdrew from the contest because he’s been “called to continue serving alongside our brethren in uniform,” according to a Facebook post.
All area state Senate and House seats come open next year and will appear on the primary and general election ballots.
Besides the Scott-Braswell contest, four other Richmond County school board trustees are up for reelection in November 2024. They are District 1 Trustee Shawnda Griffin, District 4 Trustee Wayne Frazier, District 8 Trustee Jimmy Atkins and Super District 10 Trustee Helen Minchew.
