Wade Herring, Joyce Griggs headed to runoff in Democratic U.S. House District 1 race
Wade Herring and Joyce Griggs will face each other in a runoff for the First Congressional District Democratic seat next month after neither candidate received 51% of the vote during the primary on Tuesday.
The winner of the June 21 runoff election will face four-term incumbent U.S. House of Rep. Buddy Carter in November. Carter was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Results started trickling in shortly after 8 p.m., and Griggs maintained the lead throughout the night, securing 48.8% of the vote. Herring received 37.4% and Michelle Munroe was third at 13.7%.
Reached at midnight, Griggs said she was hopeful that she would have 51% of the vote by Wednesday morning and avoid a runoff.
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"Things are too crucial for us to keep having runoffs, so we're believing that we'll take it, and I'm excited. We're still excited," she said.
"It was a lot of work, but I thank God for the point that we are at right now."
If she wins the runoff next month, November will be the second time Griggs has faced Carter. In 2020 she won the Democratic primary before losing to Carter in the general election.
Griggs is a retired army intelligence officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served more than two years in Iraq. She announced her candidacy last December and said she felt the need to run again based on Carter’s actions and voting record in Congress.
Her priorities are much the same as they were in 2020, affordable and accessible health care, job generation, fighting against police brutality, social and criminal justice reform, climate change and education.
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Griggs' 2022 run was her third for the 1st District seat. She challenged Jack Kingston in 2000 but received only 31% of the vote.
"I thank all the people that believed in me and were willing to stand with me once again in spite of a lot of opposition. They stood behind me and we’re still standing,” she said
Herring, who announced his candidacy last July, said he was inspired to run after seeing Carter’s reaction to the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol and his vote to overturn the election results.
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Herring, a Savannah attorney, was formerly part of a local political action committee, the Citizens Facts PAC, which ran a full-page advertisement critical of Carter. Herring also penned an op-ed published in the Savannah Morning News calling on Carter to resign
Herring said if he is elected he’ll pursue a platform that will provide broader access to health care, infrastructure, broadband access, early childhood education, affordable college, voting rights and protecting the coast from the effects of climate change.
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As a first time candidate, Herring said he wasn’t surprised at the possibility of a runoff.
“We’re prepared to go to work hard tomorrow and come out of the runoff victorious and get ready for the general election in November,” Herring said Tuesday night,
Herring said he hopes to capture the voters who voted for Munroe and might be looking for an alternative over Griggs.
“I’m very proud of the campaign we’ve run. I’m proud of the cross section of the community not only in Chatham County, but the entire district that we pulled together in support of this campaign,” he said.
“People from all walks of life, young and old, Black and white. We’re about building people up, not tearing people down, and I think we communicated that loud and clear through the way we conducted this campaign.”
Voter turnout
The First District covers 14 counties and about half of Effingham County, and Griggs held an overwhelming lead across the district. In Chatham County the race was tight with Griggs taking 45% of the vote to Herring's 43%.
In Bryan County Griggs received 50%, Herring 30%; Effingham, Griggs 51%, Herring 32%; Glynn, Griggs, 46%, Herring, 33% and Liberty, Griggs, 56%, Herring 32%.
Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: U.S. House District 1 race: Wade Herring, Joyce Griggs head to runoff
