In the Republican primary to represent District 1 on the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, Wayne Noha took the race with nearly 58% of the vote. Noha is a native of Burnside Island and a former fire chief.

There is no Democrat running for the seat, making Noha the presumtive commissioner. Noha ran on deep institutional knowledge of the county, having attended almost every county commission meeting since 2014, he said.

“(It’s) probably the most emotions I’ve ever felt at one time in my life,” Noha said in an interview Tuesday night. “It’s celebration; it’s two months of agony making sure you’re doing everything you can to let the people know you’re there and you’re going to serve them.”

Noha watched Tuesday’s results come in at Sandfly’s Driftaway Cafe, a place he chose because it’s in the heart of the district. Noha defeated local real estate executive Austin Hill, who ran on preserving historic neighborhoods and taking a small business approach to local government.

“I am humbled by the incredible support I had in this race, and am so grateful for the voters who believed in my message of running Chatham County as you would run a small business,” Hill said in a statement to the Savannah Morning News. “I look forward to leveraging all of the connections and knowledge I gained over the past few months to further improve our great community.”

Board of Commissioners District 8

The Democratic primary for the District 8 Commission seat was a three-way contest and is now headed to a runoff. Laureen Boles, a Carver Village resident with extensive experience on the Metropolitan Planning Commission, will face West Savannah Neighborhood Association President Marsha Buford on June 18 in a special runoff election.

Just 35 votes separated Boles and Buford on Tuesday night, with each candidate earning about 35% of the vote each. There was a third candidate in the race, Garden City native Deidrick Cody, who garnered 31% of the vote.

Boles’ primary campaign priorities included economic inclusivity, housing security and environmental justice. For Buford, her priorities were workforce housing, public safety and traffic congestion.

Tax Commissioner

One countywide seat was decided Tuesday night: Tax Commissioner.

Incumbent Sonya Jackson defeated challenger Kimberly Godsden in the Democratic primary by carrying 86% of the vote. There is no Republican running for the seat, so Jackson will have the position for a second term.

Jackson ran on a platform that emphasized her accomplishments of the first term, which included reduced wait times and improved employee processes.

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Numerous Chatham County government seats were decided in Tuesday’s primary. Here is who won.