Kathy Palmer
Kathy Palmer was a judge of the Georgia 8th Superior Court District Middle Circuit. She left office on April 13, 2020.
Palmer (Republican Party) ran for election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 4. She lost in the Republican primary on June 9, 2020.
Palmer also ran in a special election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 4. She lost in the special general election on June 9, 2020.
Palmer resigned from the bench effective April 13, 2020, as a result of her run for state senate. Georgia law prohibits public officials from serving in more than one branch of government at the same time. She served on the court from 2001 to 2020 and served as chief judge of the Middle Circuit from 2008 to 2020.[1]
Biography
Palmer attended the University of Georgia for her undergraduate and J.D. degrees. Prior to becoming a judge, Palmer was a private practice attorney in a variety of fields, including criminal defense and family law.[2]
Elections
2020
Regular election
See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia State Senate District 4
Incumbent Billy Hickman won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Billy Hickman (R) | 100.0 | 65,492 |
| Total votes: 65,492 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Georgia State Senate District 4
Incumbent Billy Hickman defeated Scott Bohlke in the Republican primary runoff for Georgia State Senate District 4 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Billy Hickman | 59.5 | 8,589 |
 | Scott Bohlke | 40.5 | 5,846 | |
| Total votes: 14,435 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 4
Incumbent Billy Hickman and Scott Bohlke advanced to a runoff. They defeated Kathy Palmer and Neil Singleton in the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 4 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Billy Hickman | 43.2 | 11,190 |
| ✔ | | Scott Bohlke | 37.3 | 9,683 |
 | Kathy Palmer | 16.3 | 4,234 | |
| Neil Singleton | 3.2 | 823 | |
| Total votes: 25,930 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jack Hill (R)
Special election
See also: Georgia state legislative special elections, 2020
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for Georgia State Senate District 4
Billy Hickman defeated Scott Bohlke in the special general runoff election for Georgia State Senate District 4 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Billy Hickman (R) | 56.3 | 9,540 |
| Scott Bohlke (R) | 43.7 | 7,409 | |
| Total votes: 16,949 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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General election
Special general election for Georgia State Senate District 4
Billy Hickman and Scott Bohlke advanced to a runoff. They defeated Stephen Sammons, Kathy Palmer, and Neil Singleton in the special general election for Georgia State Senate District 4 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Billy Hickman (R) | 33.5 | 12,038 |
| ✔ | | Scott Bohlke (R) | 31.9 | 11,493 |
| Stephen Sammons (Independent) | 16.4 | 5,892 | |
| Kathy Palmer (R) | 15.3 | 5,490 | |
| Neil Singleton (R) | 3.0 | 1,064 | |
| Total votes: 35,977 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
Georgia held elections for local judicial offices—some of which are partisan, others of which are nonpartisan—in 2016. On May 24, 2016, regions across the state held primaries for the partisan races and general elections for the nonpartisan races. Runoff races for both the partisan primaries and the nonpartisan general elections were held on July 26, 2016. The general election for partisan races took place on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 11, 2016.[3]
Incumbent Kathy Palmer ran unopposed in the general election for one of 14 seats up for election on the 8th District of the Georgia Superior Court.
| Georgia Superior Court, 8th District Middle Circuit (Palmer seat), 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kathy Palmer Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 11,643 |
| Total Votes | 11,643 | |
| Source: Georgia Election Results, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election May 24, 2016," June 10, 2016 | ||
Selection method
There are 202 judges on the Georgia Superior Courts, each chosen by the people in nonpartisan elections to serve a four-year term.
The process for selecting a chief judge and that chief judge's term varies by circuit.[4]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a state resident for three years;
- a resident of the circuit he or she is representing;
- admitted to practice law for at least seven years; and
- at least 30 years old.
2012
- See also: Georgia judicial elections, 2012
Palmer ran unopposed for re-election to the Middle Circuit.[5] She was re-elected after receiving 99.5 percent of the vote on July 31, 2012.[6]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kathy Palmer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Statesboro Herald, "Palmer steps up retirement as judge to seek District 4 state Senate seat," April 20, 2020
- ↑ FACS Magazine, "Judge Kathy," accessed February 12, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Current and Past Election Results," accessed July 30, 2017
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Georgia; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Preliminary List of Candidates on the July 31, 2012 General Non-Partisan Election Ballot," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election," accessed August 1, 2012
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