Republicans carried the day in Coffee County, winning every race on the ballot by a large margin. There were 15,769 voters who cast ballots out of 23,755 registered voters, a turnout of 66.38 percent.
The local race that garnered the most attention, of course, was the sheriff’s election. With current sheriff Doyle Wooten retiring, someone new would take the reins of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office in 2025. Chief Deputy Fred Cole (R) and former deputy Ben Munford (D) emerged from the primary season as their party’s nominees (Munford had no primary opposition while Cole defeated two challengers in the Republican primary). Like all the Republicans on the ballot, Cole won easily, 11,326 to 4,083.
The tax commissioner’s race was another major local contest on the ballot. Challenger Angela Harper had defeated incumbent tax commissioner Shanda Henderson in the primary and faced opposition from Democrat Carlos Wilkerson in the general election. She won by a similar margin, 11,239 to 4,021.
The retirement of current State Rep. Clay Pirkle left the District 169 seat wide open. Republican Angie O’Steen won her primary and faced Democrat Theresa Rewis, winning 8,366 to 3,142.
Here is how the other elections turned out:
President of the United States: Donald Trump (R) defeated Kamala Harris (D) 11,370 to 4,285. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) and Jill Stein (Green) each received 22 and 10 votes, respectively.
U.S. House of Representatives District 8: Austin Scott (incumbent Republican) defeated Darrius Butler (Democrat) 11,115 to 3,789.
County Commission District 2: Jimmy Kitchens (incumbent Republican) defeated Jacky Jones (Democrat) 2,771 to 532.
Douglas City Commission Ward 2 (Non-Partisan): Tonji Simpson (195 votes) and Brenda Henderson Moore (191 votes) will face each other in a run-off on December 3, 2024. Mickeayla Clark and Aveary Daniels received 161 and 39 votes, respectively.
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 1 – Provide Local Homestead Tax Exemption: 8,876 yes to 5,357 no
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 2 – Create Tax Court: 7,033 yes to 6,956 no
Statewide Referendum Question 1 – Increase Property Tax Exemption: 8,649 yes to 5,822 no