VALDOSTA, GA (WTXL) - Tuesday was Election Day for several counties across South Georgia. However, in Valdosta, a close mayoral race had candidates on the edge of their seats for most of the evening.
Incumbent John Gayle will serve another term as the city mayor for Valdosta. He was running against J.D. Rice, the retired chief of the Valdosta Fire Department, and Brooks Bivins.
Gayle says the race was a nail-biter for him. For most of the evening, Rice was ahead, as votes were counted. At one point, Rice and Gayle were within 200 votes of each other.
Gayle says he's looking forward to another term: "I just appreciate the opportunity to continue serving. I've been happy with the job that I've done, and the voters have too. They've shown that tonight. I just wish that I could have done more to get more of the voters out in my camp, but that's how it is. I know there's some people who weren't happy. But I'm happy and I hope I can make them happy for the next four years."
Here are the results from the Supervisor of Elections:
| John Gayle | 52.35% |
| J.D. Rice | 44.78% |
| Brooks Bivins | 2.87% |
