Breaking down other local races on the ballot

Published 7:00 pm Friday, May 18, 2018

The two contested local races — at least ones involving Troup County residents — are for county commission chairman and district 7 on the Troup County School Board.

However, there will be many other elections with a local connection on the ballot, although many of them will be candidates running unopposed. Here’s a look at the rest of the races that have a local connection:

Federal Representative

In U.S. House District 3, incumbent Drew Ferguson will face competition from U.S. Army veteran Philip Singleton in the Republican primary. Ferguson has held his current position since 2016. Chuck Enderlin, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Rusty Oliver, a science teacher with two decades of education experience, are running in the Democratic primary. District 3 includes Carroll, Coweta, Fayette, Harris, Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Muscogee, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson counties.

State Senate

In district 28, incumbent Matt Brass will run unopposed. He was first elected in 2016.

Four candidates are hoping to be elected in district 29. Incumbent Josh McKoon decided to put his name in the hat for secretary of state, leaving an open spot. Military veteran Mayo “Biff” Hadden and 30-year law enforcement veteran Randy Robertson will battle it out in the Republican primary. Educator Valerie Haskins and healthcare specialist Ben Anderson are the Democratic candidates.

State House

Rep. Randy Nix, who represents district 69 in the Georgia House of Representatives, will run unopposed. Nix’s district comprises parts of Carroll, Heard and Troup counties. Nix has served in his current role since 2007.

In House district 132, incumbent Bob Trammell will run unopposed in the Democratic primary. Leonard Gomez will run unopposed in Republican primary. Trammell is the current House minority leader. House district 132 includes parts of Coweta, Meriwether and Troup County, including a large portion of LaGrange and Hogansville.

In district 133, incumbent John Pezold did not run for re-election. Republicans Chris Gyening, who is currently serving in the Georgia Army National Guard, and Vance Smith, a former representative, are up for Pezold’s open spot. House district 133 includes parts of Harris, Muscogee and Troup counties, including West Point and a portion of LaGrange. A preview on the House 133 race published in Friday’s paper.

County Commission District 5

While Patrick Crews and Tripp Foster try to win the chairman position on the Troup County Commission, Richard English gets set to serve district 5 again. English, a Democrat, is running unopposed. English was first elected to the commission in 1978.

School Board

Districts 1 and 4

Although a lot of the attention will be on the contested district 7 seat, two candidates for the Troup County School Board will run unopposed. Retired teacher Rebecca Buchanan Grubbs will be unopposed in district 4 and Allen Simpson III will be unopposed in district 1. Simpson has served on the school board since 2012. Grubbs is looking to fill the seat of longtime educator Ted Alford.

Judge of Magistrate Court

Vickie Sue McWaters will run unopposed in this election. She has served as the chief magistrate since 1986.