UPDATED, 1 A.M.
Most East Cobb incumbents prevailed in Tuesday’s elections, but two races may not be determined for a while.
And the governor’s race could be headed for a runoff.
In the 6th Congressional District race, Republican incumbent Karen Handel was fighting to hold on to the seat she won in a special election last year against Democratic newcomer Lucy McBath.
As of this writing, Handel led by fewer than 200 votes, out of more than 300,000 cast, with a handful of Cobb and some Fulton precincts still not reporting.
That’s because some polls closed in Fulton around 10 p.m. after technical issues, and the last of the voters cast their ballots shortly before midnight.
Fulton is the battleground in the 6th District, which has been in GOP hands since 1978. Handel won East Cobb precincts with 56 percent of the vote, while Handel cruised in north and central DeKalb with 59 percent.
In north Fulton, Handel’s home turf, she was leading 50.53-49.47 percent. Handel and McBath both told their supporters late Tuesday the final results won’t be determined until Wednesday.
The close race comes as Democrats were projected to regain control of the U.S. House.
In the Cobb Board of Education Post 6 race, Republican incumbent Scott Sweeney also was in a battle with a newcomer, Democrat Charisse Davis, for the seat that includes the Walton and Wheeler and part of the Campbell attendance zones.
Shortly before 1 a.m., and with 100 percent of the precincts in, Davis has 19,324 votes, or 50.46 percent, to 18,971 for Sweeney, or 49.54 percent.
Sweeney is the parent of sons in the Walton district, and was first elected in 2010. He got his biggest margins in his East Cobb base.
Davis is a former teacher and public librarian who lives in the Campbell attendance zone, and that’s where she picked up most of her votes.
Her election would cut the Republican majority on the seven-member school board to only 4-3. She also would be the only woman on the board.
Two-term Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell pulled out a close re-election bid to keep her District 3 seat that includes Northeast Cobb. A Republican, she defeated Democrat Caroline Holko with 33,899 votes, or 52.40 percent, to 30,790, or 47.60 percent.
Republican Cobb school board member David Chastain was re-elected to the Post 6 seat that covers the Kell and Sprayberry attendance zones. He defeated Democrat Cynthia Parr with 19,247 votes, or 54.18 percent, to 16,278, or 45.82 percent.
Another close race in East Cobb was for the State House District 37 seat. Republican incumbent Sam Teasley was holding a very narrow lead over Democrat Mary Frances Williams. He had 10,932 votes, or 50.34 percent, to 10,785 votes for Williams, or 49.66 percent.
Other East Cobb legislative incumbents, all Republicans, held onto their seats: State Senator Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and representatives Sharon Cooper, Matt Dollar, Don Parsons and John Carson.
Cooper had the closest race of all, defeating Democrat Luisa Wakeman by 52.55-47.45 percent in the State House 43 seat she has held since 1997.
In the Georgia governor’s race, Republican Brian Kemp was holding on against Democrat Stacey Abrams after rolling up a big lead early in the evening.
But Abrams fought back as metro Atlanta counties reported, including Cobb, and the race could be headed for a runoff.
With 95 percent of all precincts reporting, Kemp had 1,925,539 votes, or 51.06 percent. Abrams received 1,809,629 votes, or 47.99 percent. Abrams, who won Cobb by 53-45 percent, came out to her supporters in Atlanta early this morning and did not concede.
Libertarian Ted Metz got just 35,659 votes, but his 0.95 percent share of the statewide vote could extend a contentious race for a few more weeks.
We’ll follow up these developments and take a deeper look at the other races on East Cobb News Wednesday and through the rest of the week.
UPDATED, 10:15 P.M.
The “Blue Wave” election Democrats were hoping for has been little more than a trickle thus far in East Cobb, with one major exception.
In the 6th Congressional District race, Republican incumbent Karen Handel and Democratic Lucy McBath are running just about even and have exchanged thin leads.
At 10 p.m., Handel held a slight lead, 50.89 percent to 49.11 race, with 61 percent of the precincts fully reporting.
Due to technical issues, some precincts in Fulton County closed at 9:30 and 10 p.m.
Live election night reporting
In East Cobb, a Republican stronghold, Handel enjoys a 68.6-31.3 percent lead.
McBath has a 53-46 percent edge in DeKalb, and McBath is up 50-49 in Fulton.
In the Cobb Commission District 3 race, Republican incumbent JoAnn Birrell is leading Democrat Caroline Holko 62-38 percent, but none of the seat’s 44 precincts are fully reporting.
It’s also early in two Cobb school board races in East Cobb, where Republican incumbents David Chastain and Scott Sweeney have 60 and 67 percent of the vote, respectively.
East Cobb’s legislative incumbents, also all Republicans, also are leading handily, with most having 60 percent or more of the vote.
In the governor’s race, Republican Brian Kemp had a big early lead over Democrat Stacey Abrams that has narrowed to around 55-44 percent with 63 percent of the precincts reporting.
Metro Atlanta counties still have to fully report, including Cobb.
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