MACON, Ga. — At least 8,000 absentee ballots still remain to be counted, but most of the votes in the Macon-Bibb mayoral race have now been counted, according to the Bibb Board of Elections.
If the trends hold steady as those last absentee ballots are tallied, it looks like Lester Miller and Cliffard Whitby will likely be headed to a runoff.
After a long campaign leading up to Tuesday's election, Miller says he's ready to keep pushing toward that August runoff election date.
"We've definitely got enough in the tank to go two months, longer if necessary," he said. "But we're ready for this thing to be over once and for all so we can move forward as a community."
Cliffard Whitby's campaign declined an invitation to speak on camera Wednesday, but in a live interview Tuesday night, he said he's just as ready for the next eight weeks of campaigning.
"We aren't wavering one bit, we will continue to fight for fairness, equity, balance and fair play for this community," said Whitby.
He also said he's encouraged by the support he's already received in the race.
"When I look at these young people -- some of them voted for the first time, getting involved in the process -- with these young people and people getting involved in the process, we're going to change Macon-Bibb, we will turn Macon-Bibb around and there is no turning back now," said Whitby in that same election night interview.
Miller said he hopes to hit the next two months hard.
"Our goal is to expand our base," he said. "Everybody that wants to have a seat at the table or a part in our campaign can certainly do that...we're going to be very inclusive. We're going to reach out to all parts of the community like we've been doing for the last two years."
Whitby said his campaign isn't slowing down either.
"Over the last few weeks, our campaign platform, equity, balance, and fair play has crystallized for the world and certainly for right here in Macon-Bibb," said Whitby. "I wanted Macon-Bibb and my supporters to know that we aren't wavering one bit."
And Miller is preparing for what could be a hard-fought campaign.
He suggested a runoff campaign could be more contentious than the one leading up to this week's vote.
"We both have records to run on," said Miller. "I'm proud of my record at the school system. It will come under attack. When you attack me and you attacked our teachers and you attacked our administration, you attacked us all. So I think there's going to be a bone of contention about facts related to the school system."
As of the latest release from the Bibb Board of Elections early Wednesday morning, Miller leads the field with about 13,000 votes, roughly 43% of those that have been counted so far.
Whitby follows with about 28% of the vote, approximately 8,500 votes.
The election board says at least 8,000 votes still have not been released.
To avoid a runoff, one candidate will need to earn more than 50% of all the votes cast, otherwise the race is officially headed to that August runoff.
Blake Sullivan, Larry Schlesinger, and Marc Whitfield were the other three candidates in the race.
Current Macon Mayor Robert Reichert was term limited and could not run again.
Whitby also released a statement Wednesday afternoon. You can read it, unedited, in its entirety below.
“I cannot think of speaking about last night’s outcome without thinking of how grateful I am for my supporters, the Macon-Bibb voters who supported me with their vote, my campaign team and most of all my family. Regardless of the results I stand by what my campaign was based on equity, fair play and opportunity and my hopes for my hometown being inclusive.
I remain optimistic about the election results along with the rest of Macon-Bibb I, I eagerly await confirmation of the election’s next results to be shared. My team remains ready to protect the vote and is in close contact with the Bibb Board of Elections s they tabulate nearly 10,000 absentee ballots as they shared with us on Wednesday."
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