Runoff recap: Duncan leads Shafer by slim margin for GOP Lt. Gov. nominee
ATLANTA - A runoff in the Republican race for Georgia lieutenant governor is too close to call.
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Unofficial election returns late Tuesday showed Geoff Duncan of Cumming leading David Shafer of Duluth by fewer than 1 percent of the total vote with nearly all precincts counted. A final margin that narrow would allow Shafer to request a recount.
The candidates are running for a shot at succeeding Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who passed on seeking re-election to run for governor.
Shafer has served at the state Capitol since 2002 and once was the Senate's president pro tempore. Duncan of Cumming spent five years in the state House.
The GOP runoff winner will face Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico, a Marietta businesswoman, in the November general election.
Primary Runoff Results: Lt. Governor
Meanwhile, the race for Georgia’s top executive post has taken form for November. Secretary of State Brian Kemp addressed a ballroom full of supporters just after 9 p.m. Tuesday accepting the Republican nomination for Georgia governor. A half-hour earlier, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle conceded the race in a bruising Republican runoff.
Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November. Abrams responded to Kemp's victory with a tweet asking supporters to stand behind her vision of Georgia against Kemp. Abrams and Kemp have sparred in the past over election security and voting rights.
The fall race will test Democrats' assertion that changing demographics have turned the Republican stronghold into a swing state.
RELATED: Brian Kemp faces Stacey Abrams in race to be Georgia's next governor
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has asked his supporters to stand behind Secretary of State Brian Kemp's bid for governor.
After conceding the GOP runoff to Kemp on Tuesday, Cagle told supporters that Kemp was "undeniably ready to lead this state." The praise was a swift reversal after a nine-week runoff that saw Cagle and Kemp attack each other on multiple fronts.
Cagle's campaign was rocked by a secret recording in which he says he helped pass a "bad public-policy" bill for political gain.
Gov. Nathan Deal and the National Rifle Association supported Cagle. But Kemp was boosted by the president's endorsement.
RELATED: Trump-backed candidate Kemp wins Georgia GOP governor runoff
Supporters of Secretary of State Brian Kemp have gathered at the ballroom of the Holiday Inn in Athens, Georgia, to await the GOP gubernatorial candidate's acceptance speech.
Ahead of official results, supporters were hoping to celebrate. A larger-than-life photo of Kemp stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the ballroom. Campaign workers set up a table just outside the ballroom with Kemp bumper stickers and water bottles. Arrangements of red, white and blue balloons adorned many of the tables.
Primary Runoff Results: Governor
Here's a look at results from Tuesday's down-ballot runoff races in Georgia:
SECRETARY OF STATE
Brad Raffensperger has won a Republican runoff in the race to replace Georgia's top elections official.
Raffensperger of Johns Creek defeated former Alpharetta mayor David Belle Isle on Tuesday to become the GOP nominee for secretary of state. The office is currently held by Republican Brian Kemp, who passed on seeking re-election to run for governor.
Raffensperger is a lawmaker in the state House and a businessman. He will face Democrat John Barrow of Athens in the fall campaign. Barrow is a former Georgia congressman who lost his seat in 2014.
Both GOP runoff candidates emphasized upgrading Georgia's electronic voting machines for improved security as their top priority.
The secretary of state oversees elections as well as corporate filings and professional licensing.
Primary Runoff Results: Secretary of State
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
Democrat Otha Thornton Jr. has been nominated to challenge Georgia's Republican state schools chief in November.
Thornton of Richmond Hill defeated Sid Chapman of Griffin in a Democratic runoff election Tuesday. Thornton advances to the fall campaign against Republican state School Superintendent Richard Woods.
Thornton is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who became the first black man named president of the National PTA in 2013. He was endorsed by Arne Duncan, who served as education secretary under President Barack Obama.
His opponent was a former classroom teacher as well as a past president of the Georgia Association of Educators. Chapman had support from former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes.
Primary Runoff Results: State School Sup't
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CONGRESSIONAL RUNOFFS
Democrat Lucy McBath will challenge Republican Rep. Karen Handel for her seat in Congress this fall.
McBath of Marietta defeated fellow Democrat Kevin Abel of Sandy Springs in a runoff election Tuesday in metro Atlanta's 6th Congressional District. Handel has to defend her U.S. House seat in November after winning a special election last year.
McBath is a gun control activist whose teenage son was fatally shot in Florida in 2012.
Democrats are hoping to upset Handel in the Republican-leaning district after her surprisingly close 2017 race with Democrat Jon Ossoff. Total spending on that campaign topped $50 million, making it the most expensive U.S. House race in history. Ossoff passed on seeking a rematch.
Primary Runoff Results: US House
Carolyn Bourdeaux has won the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Rep. Rob Woodall for his congressional seat in metro Atlanta.
Bourdeaux of Suwanee defeated fellow Democrat David Kim of Duluth in a runoff Tuesday in the 7th Congressional District.
Bourdeaux is a Georgia State University professor and former director of the state Senate Budget and Evaluation Office. Kim publishes books and magazines for teenagers.
Democrats face an uphill battle in the 7th District, which covers portions of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties outside Atlanta. Woodall has held the seat since 2011, and has won re-election three times -- each with 60 percent of the vote or more.
Get full election results as they are announced at FOX5Atlanta.com/youdecide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report