With 84 percent of precincts reporting their results, incumbent John Douglas was the clear leader over Mike Crotts in the Republican primary for Georgia's District 17 senate seat.

As of press time, Douglas had captured nearly 62 percent of the vote (10,142 ballots).

"I feel great," said Douglas, who is seeking his third term as a state senator. "I think it's a validation of the strong bond that we have with the people in the five counties."

Douglas said he was especially pleased with his showing in Newton County where he captured approximately 63 percent of the vote.

Negative mailers and accusations featured heavily in the race for the Republican nomination, with Crotts calling for an investigation into a series of e-mails Douglas sent to Conyers Mayor Randy Mills and Douglas questioning whether Crotts really resided in District 17.

"We did our best to run a campaign based on the issues and people voted for us," Douglas said. "People don't like negative campaigning. We try to stay away from it. It worked out for us."

Douglas said he plans to relax for the rest of the week with a trip to Savannah with his family before focusing on November's general election where he will face Democrat Rudy Cox.

"We're looking forward to a good exchange of ideas with Mr. Cox," he said.

Cox, who ran uncontested for the Democratic Party nomination, won 4,765 votes.

Crotts was unavailable for comment as of press time.

In other state election news:

With 86 percent of state house District 95 precincts reporting results, Real estate agent Toney Collins was leading businessman George Wilson - 69 percent to 31 percent. In Newton County, Collins collected 770 votes to Wilson's 372 votes.