Mike Collins

Georgia's June 16 runoff elections have finalized the candidates for the November general election.

Rick Jackson won the Republican gubernatorial runoff and will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Several other key state positions, including Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, were also decided in the runoffs.

The immortal words from Kenny Rogers song The Gambler, “You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table, there will be time enough counting when the dealin's done,” have never rang more true than the day after the June 16 runoffs in Georgia.

Once a bastion of red, Georgia has become a bellwether state that can serve as a crystal ball for the entire country. The Peach State has an amiable but sometimes contentious relationship with the first and current Trump administrations.

Health Care Executive Rick Jackson running as an outsider to succeed Governor Brian Kemp, who is term limited, defeated Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones 373,406 to 335, 847 votes. Jones who brandished an early endorsement from President Trump out performed Jackson in Jefferson County with 614 votes to 466 for Jackson.

It is estimated that Jackson spent well over $100 million in the primary and run off election. Democrat and former Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms will be his competition this fall.

Congressman Mike Collins, who garnered a Trump endorsement at the 11th hour, won his run-off versus former college football coach Derek Dooley. Dooley, running with the outsider brand, had a strong endorsement from one of his old friends in Kemp. While Dooley claimed to have the same ideology as Trump, Trump endorsed Collins instead. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump was cordial about Dooley but stopped short of endorsing him. Collins also grabbed about 120 more votes than Dooley did inJefferson County.

He will face incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff this fall, and this will be a U.S. Senate race that has national implications.

State Senator Greg Dolezal defeated John F. Kennedy for the Republican nomination to succeed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones. Josh McLaurin won the Democratic run off and will face Dolezal in November.

Tim Fleming won the Republican runoff for Secretary of State and will face Judge Penny Reynolds, who was victorious in the Democratic run off.

Keisha Sean Waites won the Democratic runoff for Insurance Commissioner. She will face Republican incumbent John King.

State School Superintendent Richard Woods did not achieve the 51% threshold in May so that automatically threw him into a run off. Woods finished with 51.49% to Candler County Superintendent Bubba Longgrear’s 48.51%.

In the 12th Congressional District Democratic runoff, Ceretta Smith defeated Traci George. Smith will face incumbent Republican Rick Allen in November.

Unofficially, the state listed that 488, 860 votes of 7.3 million voters in that state voted in the runoff. That equates to about 6.6% of the total electorate in Georgia. Jefferson County finished about a percent below with 5.3% of the county’s registered voters.