Chattooga County: “Big Mac” Wins Coroner Race

In the runoff election, Chattooga County Republican voters elected Jeremy “Big Mac” McElhaney as the next coroner. 

McElhaney won with over 55% of the votes. McElhaney will replace longtime Democratic Coroner Earl Rainwater, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

McElhaney and his opponent, Savanna McGill, released statements following the election results.

“THANK YOU Chattooga County for the honor of being chosen as your Coroner-Elect.

I wish that I could find the words to express my appreciation to each person that has helped me along this journey. I want to thank each person who has voted for me, displayed a campaign sign, asked a friend or relative to vote for me, given me advice, sent a message of encouragement, traveled the county with me putting up signs, shared a Facebook post, and most importantly prayed for me. Thank you to the election workers for their dedication in providing our county with a fair and honest election system.

I thank God for the privilege and desire to serve people. I am not a politician by any measure, but I look forward to serving as your next Coroner.

I would like to wish Savannah McGill, Carrie Blackwell, and Heath Hammonds the very best. Thank you for your dedication to our county.”

“Although it isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, nor worked for, I am incredibly thankful for this experience. I could never adequately express my gratitude to the ones who stood in the trenches with me, spent the hours working with me and spoke on my behalf. For my family that spent countless hours helping me, I could never tell them “thank you” enough. For the voters that showed up for me, I appreciate the time you took to come back out to the polls.

Running for a political position at 27 years old is never something I saw myself doing, but I’m glad that I did. I learned a lot during this. A lot about myself and a lot about the people I surround myself with.

I wish for the best for our slice of heaven in this sweet little town. I hope that it continues to grow and prosper, no matter who is serving. And always, we will grow with grace and ample gratitude”