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Georgia Supreme Court elections, 2018

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2018 election dates
Deadline to file candidacy
March 9, 2018
General election
May 22, 2018
2018 State
Judicial Elections
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Overview
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The terms of five Georgia Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2018. Those justices were required to stand for nonpartisan election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench.


Candidates and results

Melton seat

Harold Melton (i) Green check mark transparent.png

Hunstein seat

John Ellington Green check mark transparent.png

Boggs seat

Michael P. Boggs (i) Green check mark transparent.png

Peterson seat

Nels Peterson (i) Green check mark transparent.png

Grant seat

Britt Grant (i) Green check mark transparent.png

About the Georgia Supreme Court

See also: Georgia Supreme Court

This 1983 Georgia Constitution gives the Georgia Supreme Court exclusive appellate jurisdiction over constitutional cases and election contest cases. The court also has general appellate jurisdiction over land title, will and equity cases, divorce and alimony cases, certified cases, death penalty cases, and writs of habeas corpus or certiorari. The court may also exercise jurisdiction over Georgia Court of Appeals cases found to be of great public importance.[2]

Political composition

Carol Hunstein Appointed by Zell Miller (D) in 1992, elected in 2000, 2006, and 2012
Robert Benham Appointed by Joe Frank Harris (D) in 1989, elected in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014
Harris Hines Appointed by Zell Miller (D) in 1995, elected in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014
Harold Melton Appointed by Sonny Perdue (R) in 2005, elected in 2006 and 2012
David Nahmias Appointed by Sonny Perdue (R) in 2009, elected in 2010 and 2016
Michael P. Boggs Appointed by Nathan Deal (R) in 2016
Keith Blackwell Appointed by Nathan Deal (R) in 2012, elected in 2014
Nels Peterson Appointed by Nathan Deal (R) in 2016
Britt Grant Appointed by Nathan Deal (R) in 2016

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Georgia

There are nine justices on the Georgia Supreme Court, each chosen by popular vote in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to retain their seats.[3]

The chief justice is selected by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[3]

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

  • a resident of Georgia and
  • admitted to practice law for at least seven years.[3]

State profile

Demographic data for Georgia
 GeorgiaU.S.
Total population:10,199,398316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):57,5133,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:60.2%73.6%
Black/African American:30.9%12.6%
Asian:3.6%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.1%3%
Hispanic/Latino:9.1%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:28.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,620$53,889
Persons below poverty level:21.1%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia

Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[4]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 159 Georgia counties—3.14 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Baker County, Georgia 8.68% 0.57% 1.07%
Dooly County, Georgia 2.05% 6.98% 3.53%
Peach County, Georgia 2.91% 7.48% 6.75%
Quitman County, Georgia 10.92% 9.04% 7.90%
Twiggs County, Georgia 1.58% 8.64% 6.97%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Georgia with 50.8 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 45.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Georgia voted Democratic 63.33 percent of the time and Republican 36.67 percent of the time. Georgia voted Republican in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Georgia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[5][6]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 64 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 45.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 74 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 42.3 points. Clinton won 14 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 116 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 106 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Georgia judicial election' OR 'Georgia court election' OR 'Georgia election 2018'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Georgia Judicial Selection More Courts
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External links

Footnotes