The race for the District 4 seat on the Bryan County Board of Commissioners was a close one – so close voters will have to take to the polls again Nov. 30 for a runoff election between Republican Butch Broome and Independent Carter Infinger.

Unofficial totals from the office of the county elections superintendent Sam Davis showed Broome with 1,013 votes and Infinger with 939.

Lynda Morse was a third member of the race for District 4 as a qualified write-in candidate. The total of write-in votes was 145. Vote totals will not be considered official until approved by the Secretary of State’s office later this week, but they are not expected to change.

That means since neither Broome nor Infinger garner a 50 percent plus 1 majority, as required by Georgia election law, there will be a runoff for the District 4 seat.

Broome was optimistic about winning the runoff vote, explaining that he won the Republican primary and the popular vote.

“We’ll do it again,” he said.

He thanked his wife, his family and the people who voted for him in this election and the primary election this summer. He also wanted to thank Infinger for running a clean campaign.

Broome likened the third race to the inscription on the inside of his wife’s wedding band. “The third time’s a charm,” he said.

Infinger said the number of votes he won spoke to him since he is running as an independent candidate. He noted that some people likely voted a straight Republican ticket.

“It speaks a lot to me running as an independent,” he said.

Morse was unable to be reached for comment by press time. Visit www.bryancountynews.net on Wednesday for a list of final results for county, state and federal races.

The races for the District 2 and District 5 seats on the Bryan County Board of Commissioners Board were uncontested. Jody Wade Price, 38, a Republican, ran for the District 2 seat, and Jimmy Henderson, 56, also a Republican, ran for the District 5 seat. Official results of those races were not immediately available as of press time.

In a prepared statement, Price said running for office was a humbling experience and added that the support he’s received during his campaign has been overwhelming.

He offered his thanks to Blondean Newman, who is vacating the District 2 seat, for her years of service on the board.

The races for seats on the Bryan County School Board were also uncontested. Incumbent Eddie Warren, 50, ran to keep his job as chairman, while Paine Bacon, 37, ran for District 1, incumbent Joe Pecenka, 40, ran for District 4 and David Schwartz, 42, ran for District 5. The seats for districts 1 and 5 are being vacated by Mary Warnell and Judy Crosby, respectively. All the candidates are Republicans, and official results were not immediately available at press time.

Broome, the official Republican candidate, owns Fish Tales restaurant in South Bryan. He previously said that he’s always wanted to run for a seat on the county board, but didn’t want to challenge Toby Roberts, who is now stepping down after holding the seat for 20 years.

Infinger, 47, works as a pharmaceutical sales representative. He’s lived in Richmond Hill since 1997 and previously said that he felt that this year was the right time to run. Infinger is a registered Republican, but ran as an Independent candidate.  

Morse, 61, ran an aggressive write-in campaign for the seat after her husband, Chris Morse, lost the Republican primary in July. She previously said that she wanted to fight the “good old boy” network in Bryan County.