LOWNDES COUNTY, GA — Elsie Napier and Alvin Payton Jr. will face off in the coming weeks, while Demarcus Marshall wins another term on the County Commission.
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None of the 5 candidates in the Georgia House District 177 primary received the required 50-plus-one percent needed to win outright. Elsie Napier and Alvin Payton Jr. will now face off in a primary runoff set for June 16th.
A separate special election runoff for District 177 is also scheduled for June 9th, where Alvin Payton Jr. will face Eric Howard. That race will determine who completes the remainder of the current term.
The District 177 race has drawn significant attention locally. Melinee Calhoun said the seat carries meaning beyond a single election.
"You know, it's this is a predominantly black district and so allows us an opportunity to have that representation that reflects us and the people."
Thameka Miller-Akpan said local elections like this one can have the biggest impact on daily life in Valdosta and Lowndes County.
"At the local level, again, this is where a lot of the change that we need to see immediately happens."
Meanwhile, incumbent Lowndes County Commission District 4 candidate Demarcus Marshall secured enough votes to avoid a runoff altogether, surpassing the 50% threshold to earn another term.
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