By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Three local races — including both school board seats and one county commission post — are headed for an Aug. 8 runoff to determine the victor.

None of the candidates in those races received a majority of the vote. A similar situation occurred with the race for the District 28 State Senate seat, also forcing a runoff.

In the contest for Post 2 on the Board of Education, Terri Smith was the top vote getter with 32.3 percent, followed by Kim Gatlin who got 21.5 percent of the vote. Those two will face each other in the runoff. The other candidates were Geneva H. McCurry (20.4 percent), Kevin Demmitt (13.9) and Don Apking (11.8).

For the Post 3 Board of Education seat, Connie Hale got a 39.5 percent approval, closely followed in second by Marion Key with 25.4 percent of the votes. They will also face in the runoff. The other candidate was Michael Jerrell, who finished with a 25.4 percent approval.

The other local runoff will feature A.G. VanLandingham and Carl Davis battling for Post 1 on the county commission. VanLandingham tallied 43.8 percent of the vote to Davis's 36.4. The other candidate, Frank Oakley, received 19.8 percent of the vote.

For the District 28 State Senate spot, incumbent Rick Price will compete against Mitch Seabaugh in the runoff. Price received 44.5 percent of the votes in the district, compared to Seabaugh's 23 percent. Price was also favored by Fayette voters on the local level, receiving 37.9 percent of ballots cast.

The other candidates on the ballot were Dan Lakly and Charlie Harper. Lakly received 16.7 percent of the district vote, while Harper garnered 15.8 percent.

Since all the candidates involved in the runoff are Republican, anyone who voted with a Democratic ballot Tuesday cannot vote in the runoff.

However, the runoff will be open to those who voted Republican Tuesday and also those who were eligible to vote Tuesday but chose not to.

For more information, contact the Fayette County Board of Elections at 770-460-5730, ext. 5408.