Former Fayette County Commissioner, Billy “JoJo” Rodgers, defeated incumbent Commissioner Robert Townley, and incumbent Commissioner Shane Hughes topped challenger Ferrell Robertson in the only two contested local races during the March 5 primaries.
Qualifying for the 2024 election cycle concluded on Friday, Nov. 10, with few challenges in local races.
Qualifying is now underway for the 2024 federal, state and local primary elections. The local Republican Party started its qualifying on Oct. 10, and the state Republican Party started qualifying candidates on Oct. 16. The local Democratic Party and the state Democratic Party are also busy qualifying candidates, with all party qualifying scheduled to conclude at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10.
The primary ballots for the Tuesday, June 21 runoff elections may be short, but some of the races on the ballots should generate plenty of voting interest, both locally and on the state and national level.
Fayette County Sheriff Byron Yerby defeated four challengers to win the May 24 Republican Primary for sheriff without a runoff. Since there were no Democratic challengers for the office, and no independent candidates have announced, Yerby is virtually assured of a second term as Fayette County’s sheriff.
With the primary elections approaching fast, several races, are expected to bring voters to the polls in near-record numbers for a non-presidential election year. In Fayette County, the races for Sheriff and Superintendent of Education each have several viable candidates who have campaigned hard for their respective positions. There are also contested Commissioner seats and Board of Education positions on the ballots in certain districts within the county.
Qualifying closed for both the Republican and Democratic parties on Jan. 28, with few if any last minutes surprises. No one qualified for a local office during the last week of qualifying. Two local candidates have no opposition in their bids for re-election. They have no opposition from either major party, virtually assuring them of re-election to their current positions.
With only a few days remaining to qualify for local office, the Superintendent of Education and Fayette County Sheriff races have attracted the most candidates. The Fayette County Republican Party began qualifying candidates for office for the 2022 elections on Dec. 1, 2021, and the Fayette County Democratic Party began its local qualifying on Dec. 20, 2021.
The Fayette County Republican Party began qualifying candidates for office for the 2022 election on Dec. 1, and the Fayette County Democratic Party began its local qualifying on Dec. 20. At press time, there were no qualifiers for local office through the Democratic Party.
Several local Republicans are literally off to the races early as the Fayette County Republican Party began accepting qualifiers on Dec. 1. According to Fayette County Republican Chairman John Killian, current Fayette County Sheriff Byron Yerby was the first in line to qualify, turning his paperwork in to Fayette County Republican Candidate Committee Chairman Ty Burnett at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 1
