Milledgeville's state senator looking more likely to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor

A total of 1,116,667 votes were recorded last month in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor. Based on this number, a total of 558,334 votes would've been needed for any candidate to avoid a runoff. 

Burt Jones received 558,979, proving once again how incredibly close elections can be sometimes. 

Jones, the Butts County man who's served as Milledgeville's State Senator since 2012, eclipsed the "50 percent plus at least 1 vote" threshold to win the primary outright and move on to the November primary. Jones cleared the hurdle by a mere 645 votes. Without the overwhelming support he received here in Baldwin County, it's safe to say that he'd be in a runoff right now. Jones garnered 3,420 local votes, or 74 percent, which was 1,620 votes more than the second-place vote-getter – Butch Miller. 

Statewide, meanwhile, Jones totaled 50.06 percent of the vote, compared to 31.12 percent for Miller and a total of 18.82 for the other two candidates. Jones still proved to be popular statewide, winning 153 out of the 159 counties in Georgia.

Jones is now the favorite in the November general election to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor and would become the "second highest elected official in the state and the President of the Senate." Also, if Georgia's governor ever becomes "incapacitated,” the "Lieutenant Governor exercises those executive powers until either the Governor's recovery or the expiration of the gubernatorial term.”