By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitzenNews.com
And DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com

Nineteen positions in Fayette County government were decided in last week's General Primary, with six yet to be decided.

Fifteen elected officials were returned to their posts without opposition. Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell, County Commissioner Harold Bost, Magistrate Judge Joe Tinsley and Magistrate Judge-elect Bob Ruppenthal won their seats in last week's balloting without runoffs and will face no opposition in the General Election Nov. 7.

Three of the remaining posts will be decided in party runoffs Aug. 8: two Board of Education posts and the 28th District state Senate seat. The Republican nomination for County Commission Post 1 also will be decided in the Aug. 8 runoff, but the winner of that race will face Democrat Elizabeth Barnes in the Nov. 7 General Election.

Party nominations for the 3rd District U. S. Congress seat were finalized last week, and those winners — incumbent Mac Collins (Republican) and Gail Notti (Democrat) also will square off in November.

Also, 34th District state Senator Greg Hecht was given the Democratic Party nomination without opposition and will face Republican Bryan Hilton, also nominated without opposition, in November.

The sixth race yet to be decided is for Clerk of Superior Court. Incumbent Bud Ballard received the Democratic nomination without opposition, and will face Republican Sheila Studdard, also nominated without opposition, in November.

Judge Johnnie Caldwell mustered enough votes in Tuesday's election to defeat challenger John Mrosek by over 2,600 votes among those casting ballots in the Griffin Judicial Circuit.

Only 22 percent of Fayette voters turned out, but they favored Mrosek by just over 1,000 votes. In Fayette, Mrosek got 5,433 votes from his home county while Caldwell received 4,386 votes.

Bob Ruppenthal edged out incumbent Magistrate Judge Grady L. Huddleston by a margin of 221 votes. In the other magistrate race, incumbent Joseph A. Tinsley Sr. kept his seat, fending off challenger Leo Kelly with 65.5 percent of the vote.

For County Commission Post 3, voters chose incumbent Harold Bost over challenger Christopher J. Ramig, with Bost getting 55 percent of the vote. Bost's margin of victory was 802 votes.

The other County Commission race, for Post 1, will end up in a runoff along with the two posts that were up for grabs on the Fayette County Board of Education. The four-way race for the District 28 state senator's seat is also headed to a runoff.

In other contested district and statewide races affecting Fayette County:

” Gail Notti defeated J.P. Agrawal for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives 3rd District spot. Notti received almost three-fourths of the vote in Fayette County also.

” Mac Collins defeated challenger Herbie Galloway by taking 7,504 votes for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House 3rd District seat. Collins also won Fayette County by almost a 9-1 margin.

” David Burgess defeated Mac Barber district-wide for the Democratic nomination for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Barber was favored in Fayette County by 55 percent of voters.

” Jim Boyd defeated Michael A. Dipietro district-wide for the other Democratic nomination for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Boyd received 72 percent of the votes cast in the race for Fayette County.

A total of 10,371 people voted in Fayette County. The overwhelming majority of those voters cast Republican ballots. The Republican voters outnumbered the Democrat voters 8,788 to 1,526, according to information from the Fayette County Board of Elections.

An additional 57 persons chose to vote nonpartisan ballots only.

Incumbents who will be returned to office without challenge in either party include Sheriff Randall Johnson, Commissioner Herb Frady in Post 2, Superior Court judges Paschal English Jr. and Ben Miller, district attorney Bill McBroom, State Court Judge Fletcher Sams, State Court Solicitor Steven L. Harris, Probate Judge Martha Stephenson, coroner C. J. Mowell Jr., Tax Commissioner George Wingo, Post 2 Magistrate Judge Kenneth Melear, Post 4 Magistrate Judge James A. White, 104th District state Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, and 105th District state Rep. Kathy Cox.