In the six-way race to fill the seat of retiring Judge Daniel Coursey, LaTisha Dear-Jackson topped the field, drawing 31,582 votes out of 84,011 ballots cast for 37.6 percent of the vote.

Her closest competitor was Tunde Akinyele, who drew 18,845 votes for 22.4 percent, setting up a July 24 runoff.  

Rounding out the vote were Gina Bernard, with 16.8 percent; Nicholas Smith with 9.4 percent; Kirby Clements Jr. with 7.3 percent; and Roderick Bridges with 6.2 percent.

“I'm tired, excited, anxious—all of those things,” said Dear-Jackson Wednesday. “I had so much nervous energy I had to take a minute to settle when the polls closed. I said, 'OK, what do I do now?'”

Dear-Jackson said the early, low polling numbers worried her, as did the gloomy weather forecasts.

“I'm humbled that the county gave the votes they did, that the county said experience matters,” she said. She also said she was heartened that she and Bernard, the only other woman in the race, drew more than 54 percent of the total vote between them.  

“I think another thing that resounded with the county is that I had bipartisan support, and I worked hard to get support from small businesses and individuals,” she said.

“I was out-spent almost 2-to-1 by Tunde's campaign, and to come out with that kind of showing was very encouraging,” she said.

Dear-Jackson said she's already reached out to her former opponents.

“We're scheduled to have further conversations, and I will be honored to have their support,” she said.

Dear-Jackson, 41, is currently a senior associate at Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins. She was a full-time judge with the DeKalb County Recorder's Court until it was dissolved by the General Assembly in 2015.

She has served as the chief municipal court judge for the city of Lithonia and is currently a municipal judge in the cities of Stone Mountain and East Point. She has sat by designation in the DeKalb County State and Superior Courts.

Akinyele, 51, said he felt gratified at his showing in the crowded race.

“Obviously, we were able to get word out to the community about my qualifications and abilities, and my fitness to be a superior court judge,” he said.

“Now we just have to work even harder,” he said. “I think the runoff election will be a low turnout, so we have to reach out to all the folks who voted before and make sure they come back to the polls.”

Akinyele said he is hopeful that the four candidates who came up short on Tuesday will throw their support to him, and he noted the collegiality among all the candidates.

“I have a good relationship with everyone who was in the race, so I'll definitely reach out to them,” he said. “There was no negativity from any of the folks involved; we have all crossed each other's paths as colleagues, so it was a congenial race.”

Akinyele is originally from Nigeria. He came to the United States 35 years ago and attended the University of South Carolina and Mercer University's Stetson School of Business and Economics before getting a law degree at Georgia State University.

After joining the State Bar of Georgia in 2000, Akinyele began working in the DeKalb County Solicitor's Office, then worked as an assistant Fulton County district attorney before returning to DeKalb as an ADA.

Akinyele launched his own private practice in 2013 and serves as an appointed municipal judge in Lithonia and as a hearing officer in Clarkston. He sits as a designated judge in DeKalb County State Court.