VALDOSTA —
The races for Lowndes County's Sheriff and Solicitor's seats went to incumbents, Solicitor Justin Cabral and Sheriff Chris Prine, who both will continue their positions for another four years.
Cabral said he spent Tuesday evening with members of his campaign and they painstakingly watched as the votes rolled in. Cabral beat out democratic challenger Jason Cain by a 3 percent margin, 51.56 to 48.44, as roughly 75 percent of Lowndes County's register voters weighed in on the race.
“I'm humbled by my supporters and grateful for them as well,” said Cabral. “I look forward to the next four years of serving the citizens of Lowndes County and continuing to gain their trust. I have court in the morning and I’ll be back to work. But tonight, we'll be celebrating a hard fought victory.” ”
Though Cabral won eight of Lowndes County's 12 precincts, Cain managed to win tough battles in the university-area and South Lowndes polling locations.
Prine did not return calls Tuesday night to comment on his 63.53 to 36.47 victory over Republican challenger J. D. Yeager. Prine received 23,810 favorable ballots to Yeager's 13,671 votes.
“Despite the faith and support that people placed in me, it just wasn't meant to be,” said Yeager. “'m thankful for the opportunity. We're extremely proud that we ran the race that we started and committed to run.”
“When I started this campaign, I said that I would give God all of the glory and honor from the beginning to the end,” said Yeager. “I'm thankful he allowed me to persevere through this campaign and I accept the decision of the Lowndes County’s voters.”
Yeager said he was ready to move forward and was preparing to return his focus to his real estate business. And though he didn’t win the sheriff’s seat, he said he was happy that tonight revealed a little bit about his future.
Lowndes County enjoyed a turnout of 75.84 percent as 38,829 of it's 51,198 registered voters cast ballots. The election results are not yet final and will be certified Friday by the Board of Elections.
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