The secretary of state Wednesday certified July 20 primary election results, and several candidates now are officially poised to compete in the Aug. 10 runoff.

In certifying the results, Secretary of State Brian Kemp affirmed that counties have provided the total votes tabulated for each candidate, according to the press release. Further, he affirms the returns are a true and correct tabulation of the certified returns received by his office from each county.

In one of the tightest races, the two Republican candidates for State House District 14 are neck and neck going into the runoff, according to the results posted on the secretary of state website. With 1,982 votes of the 5,023 ballots cast, former Cherokee Judicial Circuit district attorney candidate Christian Coomer took 39.5 percent of votes.

Set to face Coomer next month, fellow Cartersville attorney Shep Helton took 39.4 percent with 1,978 votes. Greg Bowen came in third with 1,063 votes, or 21.2 percent.

Either Coomer or Helton will face Democratic nominee Dan Ledford, who, with 549 votes, took 51.8 percent of the party's ballots over opponent Jessica Weaver-Stoll. She received 511 votes for 48.2 percent.

State Rep. Paul Battles, R-Cartersville, will retain his District 15 seat in the House, as he received 68.2 percent of the votes with 3,364 of the 4,936 ballots over opponent Hayden Collins, who came away with 31.8 percent, or 1,572 votes. Battles faces no Democratic opposition.

In statewide races, Nathan Deal and former Secretary of State Karen Handel are set to compete Aug. 10 for the Republican nomination for governor. Deal netted 22.9 percent of the statewide Republican ballots, or 155,946 votes, while Handel got 34.1 percent, or 231,990 of the party's votes.

One of the two will face Democratic nominee Roy Barnes in the November general election.

Bartow County Republican voters also chose Handel with 2,456, or 27.9 percent, of the party's 8,793 votes for governor in the primary. Deal earned 1,981, or 22.5 percent of local votes, while candidates Eric Johnson and John Oxendine got 1,868, or 21.2 percent, and 1,859, or 21.1 percent, of local votes, respectively.

In the Democratic primary, Bartow voters overwhelmingly supported Barnes, selecting him with 1,376 of the party's 1,834 local votes for 75 percent.

Competing for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state are Gail Buckner, who got 35.1 percent of the votes in her party, and Georganna Sinkfield with 22.6 percent. They will compete in the runoff for the spot in the November general election to vie with Republican incumbent Brian Kemp, who got 59.2 percent of the statewide votes over Doug MacGinnitie with 40.8 percent.

In Bartow County, Democratic voters chose Buckner with 608 of the 1,580 ballots cast, or 38.5 percent, while Sinkfield netted 170 local votes, or 10.8 percent.

One of the two will face the Republican candidate for secretary of state, Brian Kemp, in the November general election. He got 59.2 percent, or 4,688, of the party's 7,924 Bartow votes, while 40.8 percent or 3,236 voters chose challenger Doug MacGinnitie.

Former 52nd District state senator Preston W. Smith and former Cobb County Commissioner Sam Olens will compete Aug. 10 for the Republican nomination for attorney general. While Olens got 229,769, or 39.9 percent, of the 576,492 statewide votes, Smith received 30.6 percent, or 176,656 votes.

In the Republican primary, Bartow voters supported Smith with 3,637, or 46.4 percent, of the 7,835 votes, while Olens trailed with 2,998 votes or 38.3 percent.

Democratic nominee for attorney general, Ken Hodges, got 221,598, or 65.5 percent, of the 338,312 statewide votes, while his competitor Rob Teilhet came out with 116,714, or 34.5 percent.

Bartow voters in the Democratic primary chose Hodges, with 1,058 or 66.8 percent of the 1,583 votes, while Teilhet came away with 525, or 33.2 percent, of the votes.

Either Olens or Smith will square off with Hodges in the November general election.

Other runoff elections are for the Commissioner of Insurance post and the Public Service Commission District 2 seat.

For more information on those results both statewide and by county, visit sos.georgia.gov/elections and click on Election Results for the July 20 General Primary.

The runoff will be held Aug. 10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting will begin as soon as ballots are available and will end Friday, Aug. 6, according to the secretary of state press release.

Early voting locations in Bartow include the Cartersville Civic Center and county voter registration office at 105 N. Bartow St., but it was not clear at press time Wednesday if early voting will be an option for locals next week.

Voters may request an absentee ballot from the county registrar's office through the close of business Aug. 6. Absentee ballots must be received by the county registrar by close of business on election day.

Eligible voters who did not vote in the primary can cast a ballot in the runoff. But eligible voters who cast a ballot in the primary must choose the same party's ballot for the runoff.