With all precincts in three counties reporting, the unofficial results showed Dugan with 3,299 votes, or 87.6 percent, to Libertarian Party challenger James Camp’s 467 votes, or 12.4 percent.
Voter turnout was low, with less than 4 percent of eligible voters in the district casting ballots.
“I’m happy with the results, and it says to me that the voters in District 30 have enough faith in me to be their voice in Atlanta,” Dugan said after the votes were counted Tuesday night. “I’m looking forward to serving, and I’m ready to start doing the job.”
Dugan, a first-time office seeker, will replace Bill Hamrick who resigned the seat in September to accept an appointment to a Coweta District Superior Court judgeship. Dugan will be sworn into office Monday, in time to catch the opening gavel of the Georgia General Assembly.
Camp congratulated Dugan and said, “He’s a good man and will serve District 30 well.”
Commenting on his overwhelming loss, Camp added, “I had pretty much the same conservative message that Dugan had, but people can’t get away from the two-party establishment that dominates elections.”
He said he currently has no plans to run for office in the future.
Dugan won all 26 precincts in Carroll County, with the closest vote being in Camp’s Temple County precinct, where Dugan won by a two-to-one margin, 54-27 votes.
In Carroll County, Dugan had 2,620 votes, or 89.5 percent, to Camp’s 308 votes, or 10.5 percent. There was one write-in vote in Carroll County. The voter turnout in Carroll County was about 4.9 percent.
In Douglas County, Dugan had 446 votes, or 81.4 percent, to Camp’s 102 votes, or 18.6 percent. The voter turnout was about 2.7 percent.
In Paulding County, Dugan had 233 votes, or 80.3 percent, to Camp’s 57 votes, or 19.7 percent. The voter turnout was about 1.4 percent.
Dugan, a construction contractor and retired military officer, repeated his platform message throughout the campaign process, which started last September, saying he’s a conservative Republican with the same core values shared by most of the people in the district.
“I’m still pushing for term limits and caps on contributions,” he said. “I pledge to hold town hall meetings once a month in different parts of the district.”
Camp, a Temple IT technician, directed his campaign toward reaching what he termed the “super voters,” those who cast ballots in every primary, general and special election and every runoff.
“I’m asking them to come out and vote and ask their friends and family members to vote,” he said last weekend. “I’m telling them this election could come down to whether the Republicans will get a ‘super majority’ in the Senate. With a super majority (two-thirds), they can pass any agenda they want and get it through without opposition. That takes away the will of the people and puts it in the hands of the party bosses.”
The long path to the state Senate seat began with a Nov. 6 special Republican primary, with four candidates seeking the seat being vacated by Hamrick. Former state Rep. Bill Hembree of Winston was the top vote getter in that election, with 48.3 percent of the vote, but lost to second-place finisher Dugan in the Dec. 4 runoff.
As a third-party candidate, Camp qualified early for the Jan. 8 special general ballot and did not have to participate in the earlier Republican contests.
Post a Comment