[caption id="attachment_74703" align="alignnone" width="767"] People hand count 2020 presidential election ballots during an audit at the Gwinnett County Voter Registration office in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on Nov. 13, 2020. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg[/caption] Throughout Georgia, voters are set to decide 15 contested judicial races in the May 24 primary nonpartisan election. Just under two dozen challengers have qualified to fill three seats vacated by retirement and 13 others held by incumbents seeking to keep their spots on the bench. With the exception of one Supreme Court of Georgia race pitting 2021 appointee Justice Verda M. Colvin against Macon attorney Veronica Brinson, all other state-level contests are for seats on Superior Court benches. The races drawing the most challengers involve seats that retiring judges have vacated, followed by those held by appointed incumbents.

See Who's Running for Judge Throughout Georgia

Most Challengers

In Cobb County, two seats are up for grabs on the Superior Court bench. After more than 22 years of service, Judge Robert E. Flournoy III is retiring at the end of his term on Dec. 31. Four attorneys and one judge are now campaigning for the vacated seat. Cobb County Magistrate Judge Sonja N. Brown is running against attorneys James K. Luttrell of Canton, Assistant Cobb County District Attorney Gerald Moore of Marietta, Daniele Johnson of Daniele Johnson & Associates in Atlanta and Taneesha Marshall, regional counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Chief Judge Robert D. Leonard II is running to protect his seat against two challengers, attorneys Charles E. Ford of the Fulton County Public Defender's Office and Matt D. McMaster of Marietta.

Appointees Challenged

In the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Judge Chuck Eaton is being challenged by Fulton County Juvenile Court Associate Judge Shalanda Miller for his appointed seat. Gov. Brian Kemp selected Eaton in July for the highly sought-after and closely watched position, despite outcry he lacked prior legal practice, unlike other candidates. Meanwhile, fellow Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is also campaigning to keep her seat after being challenged by former Fulton County Magistrate Judge Allyson R. Pitts. Northeast of Atlanta, 2019 Kemp-appointee Judge Angela Duncan is running to keep her seat on the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Superior Court bench. Duncan will face off against attorney B. Thassanee "B.T." Parker of Grayson. Additional contested races in the circuit include Lilburn attorney Andre M. Johnson challenging incumbent Judge Tracie Cason, while Snellville attorney Karen Scott Greene campaigns to unseat incumbent Judge Tim Hamil. Southwest in the Douglas Judicial Circuit, Judge Cynthia Adams has garnered two challengers looking to replace the incumbent appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal in January of 2017. Attorneys Corey Martin of The Law Offices of Martin & Associates in Douglasville and Ryan C. Williams of  Douglas County are in the running for the Superior Court seat. To the south in the Southern Judicial Circuit, three attorneys are campaigning against each other to fill a vacancy created by retiring Judge James E. Hardy. Catherine Mims Smith of the Southern Circuit District Attorney's Office, Valdosta attorney William Long Whitesell and Thomasville lawyer Robert L. Moore Jr. are in the running for the vacated Superior Court seat. Further southeast in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, several judicial candidates are seeking to unseat two incumbents. Augusta attorney Laverne Lewis Gaskins is challenging incumbent Judge Ashley Wright, while attorney Charles H. S. Lyons III of Augusta is challenging incumbent Judge Jesse Stone's hotly debated seat. Deal appointed Wright to the bench in January 2017, while Kemp appointed Stone in February 2021, spurring a legal debate about whether the appointment took too long. Over in south central Georgia's Alapaha Judicial Circuit, another 2021 appointee has been challenged for his seat on the bench. Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Michael "Mickey" Johnson is campaigning against incumbent Judge Dick Perryman, who Kemp appointed to the Superior Court last February.

One-on-One Contests

Georgia's contested judicial races also include face-offs between long-standing judges and attorneys. Southeast of Atlanta in the Flint Judicial Circuit, Jonesboro attorney Loletha D. Hale is challenging incumbent Judge Brian Amero, who voters first elected in 2006. Meanwhile in northwestern Georgia's Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, Cedartown lawyer Andrew B. Roper is campaigning to unseat incumbent Meng Lim. Voters first elected Lim to the bench in 2014.