Johnson hangs on in primary; open GA seats head to runoffs

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) has hung on in his hard-fought primary, defeating DeKalb County Sheriff Tom Brown (D).

The Associated Press has called the race for Johnson, who led Brown by 55 percent to 45 percent with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Johnson benefitted from an endorsement from President Obama.

The Democrat’s win is one of many competitive Georgia primaries, though the rest are on the GOP side.

Businessman Rick Allen (R) has won an outright primary victory to face Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.), giving him a boost in the general election.

The Associated Press has called the race for Allen, who led the five-candidate field with 54 percent of the vote and 93 percent of precincts reporting.

Allen lost a primary to face Barrow two years ago in a heavily Republican district. His win, and avoiding the runoff, gives him a better chance to build the warchest necessary to take on the savvy incumbent.

A number of other Georgia House races are heading to primary runoffs. 

Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), who ran on the Libertarian Party ticket for president in 2008, will face off against Georgia state Sen. Barry Loudermilk (R) for Rep. Phil Gingrey’s (R-Ga.) seat. Loudermilk was backed by the Senate Conservatives Fund. 

Baptist pastor Jodi Hice (R) and businessman Mike Collins (R), the son of former Rep. Mac Collins (R-Ga.), will face off in the heavily Republican district to replace Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.).

Georgia state Sen. Buddy Carter (R) has won a spot in the runoff for Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-Ga.) seat. His runoff opponent has not yet been called.

This post was updated at 12:55 a.m.