Dawson County is in for a busy election season this year, and over the last week, candidates at the local, state and national level took the next steps down the road heading towards election day. 

Qualifying began on Monday, March 2 and ended on Friday, March 6 at noon for both nonpartisan and political party candidates. Candidates qualified for the general primary, which will be held on Tuesday, May 19 after three weeks of advance voting.

The general primary will consist of non-partisan races and selecting party candidates for the Nov. 3 general election. It should be noted that the Senate race for the seat held by Sen. Kelly Loeffler will be decided in November.

 Here’s who has qualified for local races so far:

State House: District 9

• Clint Smith- Republican
• Will Wade- Republican
• Steve Leibel- Republican
• Zach Tumlin- Republican
• Doug Sherill - Republican 
• Tyler Tolin - Republican
• Sharon Ravert- Democrat

 Dawson County Commissioner: District 2

• Chris Gaines (Incumbent) - Republican

 Dawson County Commissioner: District 4

• Emory Dooley – Republican
• David Pressley – Republican  

 Dawson County Commission Chair

• Billy Thurmond (Incumbent)- Republican 
• Renee Duren – Republican

 Sheriff of Dawson County 

• Jeff Johnson (Incumbent)- Republican
• Marcus Sewell – Republican
• Jeff Perry - Republican

Clerk of Superior Court

• Justin Power (Incumbent)

 Tax Commissioner

• Nicole Stewart (Incumbent)

 Judge of Probate

• Jennifer Burt

 Chief Magistrate Judge

• Tony Tarnacki 

Dawson County Board of Education District 1 

• Doris Cook (Incumbent)

Dawson County Board of Education District 2

• Elaine Wilson (Incumbent)

 Dawson County Board of Education District 4

• Roger Slaton (Incumbent)

Dawson County Coroner 

• Ted Bearden 

Upcoming elections also include a number of different national races, including a presidential preference primary and races for U.S. Senate. Qualifying national candidates include: 

 U.S. Senate

• Sen. David Perdue (Incumbent)- Republican
• Tricia Carpenter McCracken - Democrat 
  
• Marckeith DeJesus - Democrat 
  
• Maya Dillard Smith - Democrat 
  
• Jon Ossoff - Democrat 
  
• James Knox- Democratic
• Teresa Tomlinson - Democratic
  
• Sarah Riggs Amico - Democrat
  
• Shane Hazel- Libertarian 

 U.S. Senate

• Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Incumbent)- Republican
• Doug Collins- Republican
• Tamara Johnson-Shealey- Democratic
• Richard Dien Winfield- Democratic
• Allen Buckley- Independent
• Al Bartell - Independent
  
• Annette Davis Jackson, Republican
  
• John "Green" Fortuin - Green Party
• Derrick E. Grayson - Republican
• Michael Todd Greene - Independent
• Deborah Jackson - Democrat
• A. Wayne Johnson - Republican
• Matt Lieberman - Democrat
• Rod Mack - Qualified as a write-in
• Joy Felicia Slade - Democrat
  
• Brian Slowinski - Libertarian
  
• Valencia Stovall - Independent
  
• Ed Tarver - Democrat
  
• Kandiss Taylor - Republican
  
• Raphael Warnock - Democrat
  

 U.S. House of Representatives: District 9

• Michael Boggus- Republican
• Paul Broun - Republican
  
• Andrew Clyde- Republican
• Matt Gurtler- Republican
• Maria Strickland- Republican
• Kevin Tanner- Republican
• Ethan Underwood- Republican
• Devin Pandy- Democratic
• Kellie Weeks - Republican
  
• John Wilkinson - Republican
• Dan Wilson - Democrat 

Reporters Kelly Whitmire and Megan Reed contributed to this report.