Wilkinson County remains ‘reliably red’

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David Hadarits, pictured at left, was the victor in Tuesday’s School Board Chair election, defeating longtime incumbent Roger Smith, pictured at far right. Christian McKearney / TJP

A Democrat stronghold for many decades, it’s now safe to say that Wilkinson County is “reliably red.”

Not only did Donald Trump win the county’s presidential vote by roughly 18 percentage points, local Republicans also cleaned up on Tuesday night.

In two months, when officeholders are sworn in at the courthouse, every constitutional officer in Wilkinson County will be a Republican, with the exception of the sheriff. That exception is Richard Chatman, who put up big numbers on Tuesday despite running as a Democrat. Chatman, first elected as sheriff in 1996, received 3,347 votes, while Republican challenger Chancey Allen garnered 1,477, a difference of 38 percentage points. 2024 marked the first time in years that anyone even bothered to run against Chatman.

Meanwhile, Republican Amanda Panther bested Jamesha Anderson, the Democrat incumbent, by a vote total of 2,653-2,122 in the Tax Commissioner’s race. Anderson was sworn into office in May 2022 after then-Tax Commissioner Vanessa Lewis resigned and went to work in the private sector. Anderson and Panther have both worked in the Tax Commissioner’s Office for a number of years.

Also, in the Coroner’s race, Republican Dusty Thomas defeated Democrat Aisha Edmonds by a vote total of 2,844-1,938. Billy Matthews, Wilco’s longtime Coroner, previously decided not to seek re-election, opening the door for a new crop of coroner candidates.

heriff Richard Chatman on Tuesday night was surrounded by family, including his growing list of grandchildren. Christian McKearney / TJP

In terms of the other constitutional officers, current Superior Court Clerk Kimberly Bentley ran unopposed, as did Amanda Panther in the Probate Court Judge’s race. Both ladies are Republicans. Bentley, who’s worked in the Clerk of Superior Court’s office for a number of years, has led the office since the retirement of Cinda Bright in early 2023. Bright had been on the job for roughly four decades, and Bentley was her protege. Panther, meanwhile, currently works in the office and soon will be sworn in to replace Lisa Dykes, who decided not to seek re-election earlier this year.

The local red wave did not stop there, however. The Wilkinson County School Board soon will be majority Republican. Up until 2016, no candidate in Wilkinson County even bothered to run for local office as a Republican. Now, a mere eight years later, the School Board will include a Republican chairman, as well as two GOP School Board members. That chairman will be David Hadarits, a political newcomer who defeated longtime School Board Chairman Roger Smith by a vote total of 2,677-2,105, which equates to 56% to 44%. Also, Republican Johanna Rogers easily won a spot on the School Board in District 3, downing incumbent Leroy Strange 63% to 37%.

Circling back to the presidential race, Trump performed stronger than ever in Wilkinson County, reflective of Wilco’s party shift to the right. Trump received 51.05% of the local vote in 2016, 55.9% in 2020 and then 58.4% on Tuesday.

There are 159 counties in Georgia. Out of those 159, Wilkinson was one of only five not to have any results turned into the Secretary of State’s Office by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Elections Superintendent Kelly Chatman remained downstairs while the results were delivered to candidates and the public in the “big courtroom” upstairs, and it’s not immediately clear why Wilkinson County was so relatively late to report.