On June 16, 1736, General James Oglethorpe arrived in England with Tomochichi, the Yamacraw Indian chief, Tomochichi’s wife and several other members of the tribe on a trip to meet the Georgia Trustees and King George II.
On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln addressed the Illiniois Republican Convention as a candidate for U.S. Senate and warned that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
The Atlanta Constitution was first published on June 16, 1868.
Bob Dylan recorded “Like a Rolling Stone” on June 16, 1965.
The Monterey Pop Festival opened at the Monterey Fairgrounds on June 16, 1967, often considered one of the opening events of the “Summer of Love.” Among the artists playing the Festival were the Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Macon-born Otis Redding.
Six Flags Over Georgia opened on June 16, 1967.
Atlanta Braves player Otis Nixon tied the modern record for steals in one game with six stolen bases agains the Montreal Expos on June 16, 1991.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
The Georgia General Assembly convenes in Special Session tomorrow, June 17, 2026.
Total early voting turnout is 488,860 ballots cast ahead of today’s Primary Runoff Election, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Democratic – 182,016 – 37.23%
Republican – 305,382 – 62.47%
Nonpartisan – 1,462 – 0.30%
TOTAL: 488,860
Local voting precincts are open from 7 AM to 7 PM today. From the Statesboro Herald:
Bulloch County’s 16 traditional Election Day precincts have polls open 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, for their assigned voters who haven’t voted early or absentee in the Democratic and Republican party primary runoffs.
A little over 5% of Bulloch’s active registered voters had voted early or absentee when the five days of in-person early voting ended at 5 p.m. Friday.
But in this continuation from the May primaries, Republican-ballot voters in multi-seat Board of Commissioners District 2, which includes about two-thirds of Bulloch County’s population, are deciding the finish of the race for Seat 2-B between current Commissioner Toby Conner and challenger Dr. Ted Redman. They emerged as the front-runners, but neither with 50% of the vote, from a three-candidate contest in the May 19 primary.
In five days of early voting, last Monday through Friday, 2,521 Bulloch County residents voted early in-person, while another 207 had returned, as having been completed, absentee ballots, according to the Election Data Hub maintained by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
The absentee number included some ballots continuing to arrive by mail and back at the county election headquarters into Monday afternoon. Previously mailed-out absentee ballots can be counted if returned there by the close of polls at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Combined, the 2,521 early in-person, and 207 absentee voters in Bulloch totaled 2,728 voters, or 5.4% of the county’s 50,665 “active” registered voters, as reported on the state hub. Statewide, 460,344 Georgia voters had voted early in-person through Friday’s close, and 27,660 absentee ballots had been accepted as of Monday afternoon, for a running total given as 486,174 early and absentee, or 6.6% turnout statewide, of 7,358,462 active Georgia voters, the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office reported at that point.
The biggest races to watch are on the Republican side, where voters will decide who will face Jon Ossoff in the U.S. Senate contest and Keisha Lance Bottoms in the race for governor. Other runoffs are on the ballot as well, from statewide offices to legislative and congressional seats.
Polls have opened in Georgia’s June 16 runoffs that will decide the nominees in several marquee statewide contests shaping the fall ballot.
Tuesday’s ballot is led by the Republican runoff for governor between Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and health care executive Rick Jackson. The winner will advance to face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, setting up one of the state’s highest-profile general election matchups.
Voters will also settle who will challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff this fall, with Republicans choosing between U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley. That race will help determine the balance of power in Washington and is expected to draw heavy outside spending and national attention.
Locally, the Macon Water Authority District 2 race will again be on the ballot. Ron Lemon and Marshall Talley were the top two vote-getters in the May primary.
Talley’s campaign centers on data centers and their impact on high temperatures and droughts.
He promises to maintain a “hard-no stance” until data centers are transparent with their water usage.
“If a project cannot show that it will protect drinking water reliability and avoid transferring risk to existing customers, it should not move forward,” according to his campaign website.
Lemon told The Telegraph that his experience running his chiropractic business in Macon gives him “skills necessary to help the board run smoothly and efficiently.”
He said the water authority board needs to move in a positive direction.
“I pledge to make sure the MWA is responsive to consumers’ needs and that we do everything we can to keep our award-winning water affordable and safe for all,” he said.
The runoff for the mayor’s race is between former city manager Isaiah Hugley, who received 45% of the initial round of votes among six candidates, and Columbus Councilor Joanne Cogle of District 7, who finished second with 25%. Mayor Skip Henderson couldn’t run for reelection because city law limits the mayor to two four-year terms.
The runoff for the citywide District 9 seat on Columbus Council is between dentist Cathy Cook, who received 37% of the initial round of votes among four candidates, and Ankerpak owner John Anker, the incumbent who received 35%.
The runoff for the 10-member city council’s District 7 seat is between Dragonfly Trails executive director Becca Zajac, who received 45% of the initial round of votes among three candidates, and insurance professional Laketha Ashe, who received 38%. Cogle couldn’t run to retain this seat because she decided to run for mayor instead.
From the Athens Banner Herald:
Voters in Athens-Clarke County on Tuesday will determine who will fill the mayor’s office beginning in 2027.
The nonpartisan race pits former ACC commissioner Tim Denson against current Commissioner Dexter Fisher, the two candidates who emerged from a field of five in the May 19 election with the highest number of votes.
Besides the mayor’s race, voters will also decide two seats on the council that ended without a winner. Incumbent District 9 Commissioner Ovita Thornton is facing challenger Tracy Smith, while the District 5 seat, without an incumbent, is a race between Kimberly Bennett and Craig Topple.
In a key GOP runoff, two men are seeking the party’s nomination for the state Senate District 46 seat. Marc McMain and Doug McKillip are staging a race to represent the party in the November General Election.
In the May 19 general primary and nonpartisan election, incumbent Mayor Garnett Johnson received 16,313 votes (42.8%), followed by Steven Kendrick with 13,531 votes (35.5%).
In the District 8 commission race, Evett Williams led with 2,453 votes (48.36%), while Michael Cioffi placed second with 1,923 votes (37.91%).
Columbia County’s District 1 commission seat, contested between two Republicans, will also be decided.
Alex Griffin led the May 19 primary with 2,578 votes (45.54%), followed by Bobby Timmerman with 2,129 votes (37.61%).
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