Hunt received 4,147 out of 8,734 votes (47.48 percent), with all 21 precincts reporting, according to unofficial results provided by the Spalding County Department of Voter Registration and Elections. Norris received 27.94 percent of all votes.
The other candidates running in the nonpartisan race — Gerald Bailey and Cary Pope — claimed 18.72 percent and 5.74 percent of the votes, respectively.
The successful candidate will succeed DeWitt Simonton, who had announced that he would not seek re-election.
Hunt said she was somewhat disappointed that she couldn’t avoid a runoff but pledged to continue to campaign.
“I want to thank everybody for voting for us today,” she said. “It’s been a long journey. We aren’t finished yet.”
Asked how she intends to keep the momentum of her campaign between Tuesday’s results and the runoff, Hunt said she will continue to get the word out.
“We are just going to have to go out and work and hope the results pay off,” she said. “We need to stress the experience in Probate Court that I have. We hope that will help us with the runoff.”
