Gahring, Bowens, Harnage, Lanier score runoff victories

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By Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY —The voters in Terrell County turned out in impressive numbers Tuesday to determine who their sheriff and their new tax commissioner would be.

With all six county precincts reporting Tuesday night, incumbent Sheriff John Bowens earned a return to office by outpolling challenger James Driver 1,176-802. And in a surprising turnaround from May 24 Democratic primary results, Mary Ellen Harnage topped Darlene Paul 1,047 votes to 906 to claim that office.

Meanwhile, in Lee County, in a race that was a nail-biter as it headed to the wire, Probate Court Deputy Clerk Melanie Gahring edged Southwest Judicial Circuit Investigator Miles O’Quinn 1,192-1,132 to earn the right to replace John Wheaton as judge of the Lee Probate Court.

And in the race for a Superior Court judgeship in the South Georgia Judicial Circuit, Heather Hendricks Lanier claimed a convincing 3,894-2,333 victory over Ryan Cleveland in the race to succeed Judge A. Wallace Cato. Lanier, who received endorsements from current and former Dougherty County district attorneys Greg Edwards and Ken Hodges, respectively, received 65.5 percent of the vote in the five-county district.

“I’m excited,” Lanier said Tuesday night after the finals came in. “I’m appreciative of the race that Ryan and Mike Bankston (the third candidate in the original field) ran. I’m looking foward to working with Mike and Ryan from the bench in the future.”

Lanier also said she was thankful for the volunteers who worked for her campaign.

“I’ve always emphasized that I would not be where I was if it weren’t for the people making phone calls, walking in neighborhoods, putting up signs, contributing financially and praying,” she said. “I’d be nowhere without the people who were willing to help me.”

Gahring offered thanks to the supporters who will allow her to move into the office just down the hall from her current one.

“I appreciate every single person who came out to vote for me in the primary and in the runoff, and I appreciate the work of all the volunteers who supported me during this campaign,” Gahring said. “It’s been a great pleasure serving the people of Lee County in the (Probate) clerk’s office, and I look forward to serving them further as judge.

“It’s been a joy getting to know the people of our community during this campaign, and I look forward to serving all of them through the many services of the Probate Court.”

Gahring and O’Quinn emerged as the top two vote-getters in the May 24 nonpartisan primary in a closely contested four-person race that also included Gail Drake and Jeffery Kirt.

O’Quinn was gracious in defeat after the long campaign.

“Hey, I go back to work tomorrow, just like I do every day,” O’Quinn said after the narrow, 60-vote loss. “I told my wife if I won the election it would be great, but if not, well, I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m proud that even during this campaign, we did not miss a beat in our office. We even prepared for a murder trial in the middle of it.

“I learned a lot during this campaign, and one of the biggest things I learned is that I have a whole lot more respect for people who do this. No matter if I’d won or lost, I planned to get out in the next couple of days with my son and take down my campaign signs all over the county.”

Both Gahring and O’Quinn, as well as some of their most loyal supporters, spent election day staked out at strategic locations near voting precincts, braving temperatures in the 90s to wave at potential voters as they passed by.

“This has been an amazing process,” Gahring said. “I am so grateful to the people of Lee County, and I promise to do my best to earn this honor they’ve given me.”

Other election results from Southwest Georgia:

— Calhoun County: Brandon Winns defeated Darien Brown 265-183 in the coroner’s race;

— Tony Thompson defeated Tracy Green 786-514 for Randolph County probate judge;

— In Early County, Reginald Hall defeated Brooks Carter 182-110 in the District 2 School Board race, while Billy Adams edged Ed Norman 614-602 in the at-large School Board race;

— Michael Rogerson defeated Debbie Womble 967-838 for Seminole County probate judge.

Staffers Brad McEwen, Jennifer Parks and Jim Hendricks contributed to this report.

Unofficial results from metro Albany runoff elections (* – Denotes winner):

LEE COUNTY

PROBATE JUDGE

* – Melanie Gahring: 1192

Miles O’Quinn: 1132

TERRELL COUNTY

SHERIFF

* – John Bowens (i): 1176

James Driver Jr.: 802

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