The race for lieutenant governor was still too close to call Wednesday morning in a crowded field of Republicans and Democrats.

In the Republican primary, State Sen. Burt Jones was poised to avoid a runoff election with a little more than 50% of the vote, but there were plenty of votes left to be counted. Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller was the next-highest vote recipient in the four-person Republican race.

Jones, a Jackson Republican, landed Donald Trump’s endorsement after he supported the former president’s conspiracy theories that his 2020 election was stolen. He led in many polls of Republican voters throughout the primary season.

Meanwhile, the Democratic race for lieutenant governor appeared destined for a runoff. None of the nine Democrats in the race was close to the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff, though former U.S. Rep. Kwanza Hall was in the lead.

The winners in each primary will take on Libertarian candidate Ryan Graham in November.

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Protestors demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents in March. An Atlanta-based law firm has filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing it illegally terminated the immigration records of five international students and two alumni from Georgia colleges, including one from Emory University. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com