In an election capped by a busy Tuesday, long-serving Bulloch County Commissioner Anthony Simmons, a Democrat, held onto District 1's Seat B against a challenge from Republican candidate Spencer Johnson, and Loletta Donaldson-Elliott secured the vacant District 2 seat on Statesboro City Council in a nonpartisan three-candidate race.

Meanwhile, Bulloch County voters chose Republicans in all statewide contests, while Georgia overall went the other way in a major upheaval in favor of Democrats. At the top of the ballot, majorities of Georgians — but not Bulloch County majorities — gave U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, a re-election victory over Republican nominee Mike Collins and elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee and former Atlanta mayor, to be Georgia's first female governor and the first African American woman governor in the nation.

Simmons re-elected

Board of Commissioners District 1, which includes about one-third of the county's population, decided the contest between Anthony Simmons and Spencer Johnson. Simmons garnered 3,578 votes, or 68% of the total, to 1,690 votes, or 32%, for Johnson.

It was a busy evening for Simmons at the County Annex, where as current vice chair by rotation among the commissioners, he presided at the 5:30 p.m. commissioners meeting in the absence of Chairman David Bennett, who had called in sick.

By the time Simmons came over to the Board of Elections office lobby at the other end of the annex to check on the vote count, he was already the apparent winner. First elected 34 years ago, he sat out two years when the board was reset to staggered terms, but is currently completing his 32nd year as a commissioner. Now 70, he will begin a ninth term in January.

"I'm just glad to be able to serve another four more years and glad to finish up just to see Statesboro grow, glad to work on the data centers policy so we can be ready if and when one comes," Simmons said. "I'm just happy that the citizens saw fit to give me another four more years."

Statesboro's District 2

Meanwhile, what occurred in Statesboro Council District 2 was a special municipal election, called because of the vacancy created by former Councilmember Paulette Chavers' resignation in May after six years' service. It was added to the regular county and state ballots of the district's residents.

Loletta Donaldson-Elliott received 1,055 votes, or almost 65% of the total number, to win the seat over other candidates Maleek Jones, who garnered 293 votes, and Kathleen A. Keehner, who received 282 votes.

Phoned from the elections office, Donaldson-Elliott said it was a very special day.

"I'm truly excited," she said. "I truly appreciate District 2, my family, and I just want to thank everyone. Today is a very special day for me. Today is my grandmother's birthday, and at our restaurant, Big Ma's Soul Food, today is our 12th anniversary, so it's a great thing for me for this all to happen at once."

As Donaldson-Elliott explained, the restaurant was named for her grandmother, the late Almarita Donaldson, whose grandchildren called her "Big Ma."

"I truly appreciate everyone in the community for believing in me and entrusting that I can do the job they've voted me in to do," said Donaldson-Elliott.

City officials have said she can be sworn in to represent District 2 as soon as election results are certified, before the next council meeting.

Total turnout 48%

After 27% of Bulloch County's active, registered voters cast ballots either in-person or absentee, Tuesday was nonetheless a busy day for most of Bulloch County's 16 traditional voting places. Poll managers at several precincts reported seeing lines of voters outside their buildings at the beginning and end of the 7 a.m.-7 p.m. voting hours. Actually, anyone already in line at 7 p.m. was allowed to vote. For example, at the Pittman Park Precinct, in the United Methodist Church of that name, 30 to 40 people were lined up inside the building to vote after doors were closed to new arrivals at 7 p.m.

When the final-day voting was added, about 48% of Bulloch County's 51,728 active, registered voters had participated. For example, 24,616 votes were counted here in the U.S. Senate race, with 13,562 Bulloch residents, or 55.1%, voting for Collins, while 11,052 Bulloch residents, or almost 44.9%, voted for Ossoff. But statewide, Ossoff had captured 58.9% of the votes to 41.1% for Collins, as of 11:25 p.m. with all 159 counties reporting.

For governor, 14,646 Bulloch County voters, or 59.5%, chose the Republican, Jackson, while 9,958 chose the Democrat, Bottoms. But statewide, Bottoms had received more than 2.25 million votes, or 54.3% of the total, to Jackson's more than 1.89 million, or 45.7%, with all counties reporting after 11 p.m., as seen on the Secretary of State's Office online election hub.

Similarly, Bulloch County majorities went to Republican candidates while statewide majorities shifted to Democrats in the contests for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, insurance commissioner, state school superintendent, labor commissioner and two Public Service Commission seats.

Allen an exception

Bulloch County was part of giving a victory to one Republican congressional incumbent, as U.S. Rep. Rick Allen held onto the 12th District seat by his smallest margin ever. As of 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, Allen had garnered 138,260 votes throughout the district, or 51.85% of the total, to 128,406 votes for Democratic challenger Ceretta Smith.

In Bulloch, Allen received 14,522 votes, or 59% of the county total, to Smith's 10,072 votes here.