Only one candidate has qualified for each of the four Oconee County local races on the ballot on May 19, meaning the only wholly local question before voters is the referendum on renewal of the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
At the end of qualifying at noon on Friday, only incumbent Chuck Horton qualified for Post 2 on the Board of Commissioners, and only incumbent Amrey Harden qualified for Board of Commissioners Post 3.
Incumbent Ryan Hammock was the sole qualified candidate for Post 3 on the Board of Education, and only Kate Patterson qualified for Post 2 on the Board of Education.
Horton, Harden, Hammock, and Patterson all qualified as Republicans.
Only incumbent Rep. Eric Gisler qualified to seek reelection as a Democrat in House District 121, and only Mack “Dutch” Guest IV qualified for the Republican Ballot for the May 19 primary.
Suzanna Karatassos qualified as a Democrat for House District 120, and Chad Paton and Gary Ward Black Jr. qualified as Republicans. Incumbent Houston Gaines is not seeking reelection to the State House.
Ray Smith and William Gaulden Jr. qualified as Democrats for Senate District 46, and Douglas McKillip, Marc McMain, and Michael Broun qualified as Republicans for that race.
Alexandra “Lexy” Doherty, John Dority, and Pamela “Pam” Delancy qualified as Democrats for U.S. House of Representatives District 10, and Gaines, Jeffrey Baker, and Ryan Millsap qualified as Republicans for House District 10.
Watkinsville will have a contested race for Post 4, as Scott Brannon and incumbent Christine Tucker qualified. Incumbents Brett Thomas (Post 3) and Jeff Campbell (Post 5) qualified but did not draw any opposition. Races in Watkinsville are nonpartisan.
Ballots For Local Races
The names of Hammock, Harden, Horton, and Patterson will appear on the Republican ballots on May 19 without opposition, and, unless someone qualifies as an independent by the July 14 deadline, their names will appear without opposition on the Nov. 3 ballot as well.
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| Horton 3/3/2026 |
No candidate names will appear on the May 19 Democratic Party Ballot for County Commission or Board of Education.
Voters using the Democratic, Republican, and Nonpartisan ballots will be asked to vote Yes or No on renewal of the county’s SPLOST.
A positive vote will extend for six years starting in October of 2027 the one percent sales and use tax estimated to raise $90.4 million for a list of projects including retirement of bonds for construction of Oconee Veterans Park and the county administrative building, water and sewer upgrades, farmland and historic preservation, law enforcement equipment and vehicles, and parks and recreation projects.
Each of the county’s four cities also will receive money from SPLOST for capital projects listed on the May 19 ballot.
All four of the cities have put parks and recreation on the list of projects to be funded by SPLOST.
House District 121 Race
The November ballot almost certainly will contain only the names of incumbent Democrat Gisler and Republican Guest for House District 121, since an independent candidates would be required to obtain 2,226 verified signatures on petitions by the July 14 deadline to get their names on the ballot.
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| Harden 2/10/2026 |
The petitions would have to come from the three precincts in Oconee County (Central, South, and Dark Corner) in House District 121 and from the 10 precincts in Clarke County that fall partially or wholly in House District 121.
Unless an independent qualifies, the race in November will be a repeat of the Dec. 9 special election when Gisler defeated Guest by only 198 votes.
Both Gisler and Guest live in Oconee County. Gisler lists his occupation as “Business Owner” on his qualification form, and Guest lists his occupation as “Transportation.”
Gisler is a product manager with insurance technology startup Assurified and owner of the retail store Olive Basket, in downtown Athens.
Guest is vice president of LAD Truck Lines, a logistics company with warehouses and operations space on Barnett Shoals Road in Watkinsville abutting Wire Park.
House District 120 Race
Karatassos’s name will be on the Democratic Party ballot on May 19 and on the Nov. 3 ballot as the party’s nominee for House District 120. She lives in Jackson County and lists her occupation as “Content Creator.” Her work appears on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets.
Republicans on May 19 will choose between Patton, from Clarke County, and Black, from Jackson County, to run against Karatassos in November.
Paton list his occupation as “Professor,” and Black lists his as “Sales.”
Paton is an associate professor teaching nutritional biochemistry at the University of Georgia and also serves in the Army National Guard as a Major.
Black is a farmer and also owns a landscape supply business in Commerce.
KJ Allen Kendrick, who also had announced his intent to compete in the primary for the party nomination for the 120th House District, did not follow through and qualify.
The 120th House District includes Oconee County’s Northeast precinct and parts of Clarke, Barrow, and Jackson counties.
Senate District 46
In the Senate District 46 race, Oconee County voters who select the Democratic ballot on May 19 will pick between Smith, from Oconee County, who lists his occupation as “Software Engineer,” and Gaulden, from Clarke County, who lists his occupation as “Funeral Services.”
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| Hammock 2/9/2026 |
Smith is self-employed, and Gaulden is a funeral director.
The Republican May 19 ballot will include the names of Broun and McKillip, both of whom are from Oconee County and list their occupations as “Lawyer,” and McMain, from Walton County, who lists his occupation as “Entrepreneur.”
Bill Cowsert, who currently represents Senate District 46 in the General Assembly, is running for Attorney General. Cowsert is an attorney from Athens-Clarke County.
All of Oconee County falls in Senate District 46, as do parts of Clarke, Jackson, Walton, Gwinnett, and Barrow counties.
If Broun, or McKillip, or McMain does not get more than 50 percent of the vote in the May 19 primary, a runoff will take place on June 16.
U.S. District 10 Elections
The Democratic ballot on May 19 will include the names of Delancy from Henry County, Doherty from Clarke County, and Dority from Oglethorpe County.
Delancy lists her occupation as “Military Retiree.” Doherty lists her occupation as “Candidate.” Dority lists his occupation as “Retired Engineer.”
Doherty won the Democratic Party nomination to compete with incumbent Republican Mike Collins in 2024. Collins is running for the party nomination for U.S. Senate.
The May 19 Republican Ballot for Congressional District 12 includes Baker from Oglethorpe County, Gaines from Clarke County, and Millsap from Newton County.
Baker lists his occupation as “Plumber.” Gaines lists his occupation as “Small Business Development.” Millsap lists his occupation as “Entrepreneur.”
The District stretches across 20 counties and includes all of Oconee and Clarke counties.
County Candidate Qualification Forms
Horton has served on the County Commission for 17 years and was on the Board of Education for eight years before that. He is retired University of Georgia police chief.
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| Patterson Submitted Photo |
On his qualification form he lists Loyd S. “Chuck” Horton III as his full name, lists his age as 71, says he has lived in Georgia his whole life and in Oconee County for 46 years.
Harden is finishing his first full-term on the Board, having been elected in 2020 to fill the unexpired term of William “Bubber” Wilkes, who passed away while in office. Harden is retired president and CEO of Oconee State Bank.
On his qualification form, Harden lists his age as 71, says he has lived in Georgia all his life, and that he has lived in Oconee County for the last 41 years.
Patterson will be replacing Amy Parrish, who is stepping down in December from the Board of Education.
On her qualification form, Patterson lists her age as 46, her occupation as “n/a,” and she says she has lived in Georgia for 18 consecutive years and in Oconee County for 10 consecutive years.
In a news release she issued just after Parrish announced her intention not to seek reelection, Patterson said she has served as Downtown Development Director for the City of Watkinsville.
Hammock lists is age as 43, his occupation as banker, the number of consecutive years he has lived in Georgia as 43 and in Oconee County as 12.
Hammock is Director of Lending and Business Services at Pinnacle Bank and is completing his first four-year term on the Board.
Watkinsville City Council
Watkinsville Post 3 Council Member Brett Thomas, 44, lists his occupation as “Project Management” on his qualification form. He said he has lived in Georgia his entire life and in Oconee County and Watkinsville for 12 consecutive years.
Brannon, who is challenging incumbent Council Member Tucker for Post 4, is 65-years-old and has lived in Georgia his entire life, according to his qualification form. He has lived in Oconee County for 38 years and Watkinsville for the last 32 consecutive years.
Tucker, 51, lists her occupation as “realtor.” She says she has been a resident of Georgia for 43 years and of Oconee County and Watkinsville for 14 years.
Campbell, 56, lists his occupation as “sales.” He says he has lived in Georgia his entire life, in Oconee County for 25 years, and in Watkinsville for 18 consecutive years.
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