Election Results: Bee Nguyen Projected Winner For GA Democratic Secretary Of State

GEORGIA —State Rep. Bee Nguyen is the winner in the 2022 Georgia Democratic runoff primary election for Secretary of State, according to a projection from NBC News.

The two Democrats on the ballot Tuesday for Secretary of State were Nguyen, who was leading with 77.27 percentage points as of 8:30 p.m. and former State Rep. Dee Hawkins-Haigler with 22.73 percentage points. Nguyen will face GOP incumbent Brad Raffensperger in November.

"BREAKING: I’m officially the Democratic Nominee for Georgia's Secretary of State race," Nguyen wrote on Twitter." Join me in making history by defeating Brad Raffensperger and helping me become the first Asian woman elected to political statewide office in Georgia!"

Voters also picked candidates in other statewide races, including the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, insurance commissioner and labor commissioner. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. at neighborhood precincts.

Patch will be updating the results as they come in live, check below for the latest:

Dee Hawkins-Haigler: 22.73 percentage points

Bee Nguyen: 77.27 percentage points

The runoff elections Tuesday are needed to settle races from the May primary in which no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote. The elections are open to registered voters.

Nguyen and Dawkins-Haigler were both vying for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the fall. Nguyen has the endorsement of Stacey Abrams, who will face incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the general election in November.

Nguyen and Dawkins-Haigler agree on their visions for the office: increase voter education and work more closely with local election boards to ensure universal access to free, fair and secure elections.

Former President Donald Trump targeted Raffensperger for failing to overturn his narrow loss in the state.

Georgia's voting law, Senate Bill 202, removed Raffensperger from the State Election Board after the 2020 elections. A successor was never nominated; the chairperson is required to be nonpartisan.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced earlier this month that former U.S. District Judge William Duffey will become the chairman of the State Election Board. Duffey will fill the seat that has been left vacant for more than a year since Georgia's voting law removed Raffensperger.

The general election is Nov. 8.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this story.