Four years after Henry County broke for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, Democrat candidates swept into countywide offices on Tuesday night. Voter turnout totaled 120,919 ballots or 72.4% turnout. Despite breaking the numerical turnout from 2016 prior to Election Day, turnout was nearly seven percentage points lower than four years ago.
Reginald Scandrett (D), a retired DeKalb County Deputy Sheriff, will lead the Henry County Sheriff’s Office following outgoing Sheriff Keith McBrayer’s retirement. Scandrett received 71,803 votes compared to 47,246 votes for Jack Redlinger (R). Carlotta Harrell (D) defeated incumbent June Wood (R) to chair the board of commissioners starting in January 2021. Harrell received 69,435 votes compared to Wood’s 48,619 votes. Harrell previously ran for the county chair position in 2012 and 2016. She has served on the Henry County Water Authority board since 2012.
In district commission races, District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson (R) was unopposed and re-elected to his second term with 16,941 votes. In district II representing southwest Henry County, Commissioner Dee Clemmons (D) received 16,662 votes to defeat challenger Steve Richardson (R). Richardson received 9,893 votes. Democrats won a 4-2 majority on the county commission breaking a 3-3 split that has been in place since January 2019.
Other Countywide Offices
District Attorney Darius Pattillo, Tax Commissioner Michael Harris and Coroner Donald Cleveland — all unopposed democrats — were re-elected. Harris won election to his first full term after he succeeded David Curry as tax commissioner in 2019.
Sabriya Hill (D) won election to serve as Clerk of Superior Court. Hill gained 69,655 votes to defeat Barbara Harrison (R) with 47,789 votes.
Lastly, voters approved the redevelopment powers referendum with 67,381 votes yay to 46,757 votes nay. The referendum allows Henry County and the four cities to create tax allocation districts and bond funds for capital improvements within the district.
Visit here for General Assembly results. Vote counts are from unofficial results as of 5:45 am on Wednesday, November 4.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MovingForwardHenry.org
WRITTEN BY CLAYTON – View All Posts
Clayton Carte is the founder and editor of Moving Henry Forward. The community news site covers transportation projects, new developments, and local government. Clayton graduated from Ola High School and attends Clayton State University studying political science. His goals include running for public office and encouraging others to be involved with their local government.
