Gingrich Wins Big in Georgia GOP Primary

Updated: 9:45 p.m. 

Nearly more than a third of the Cobb election returns have trickled in, and Newt Gingrich has easily won his former county, and a measure allowing for Sunday retail alcohol sales in the county will be approved handily.

With 60 of 153 precincts reporting, Gingrich received 11,406 votes, or 45.02 percent, slightly less than his share of the vote statewide. 

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was second in Cobb, with 7513 votes, or 29.66 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was running third with 4084 votes, or 16.12 percent.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul received 2134 votes for 8.41 percent of the early total. 

President Barack Obama, unopposed in the Democratic primary, received 2,284 votes in the early going. 

With 48 of 118 precincts in unincorporated Cobb reporting, a total of 16,321 voters, or 69.34 percent, voted "yes" for Sunday alcohol sales. On the "no" side were 7217 voters, or 30.66 percent. 

Sunday sales measures were also being voted on by citizens of Marietta, Austell and Powder Springs. 

Keep track of continuing updates at the Cobb Elections website.

Please return to East Cobb Patch Wednesday morning for more results and reactions of Tuesday's voting. 

Updated: 9:10 p.m. 

Newt Gingrich just finished his remarks at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel near the Cobb Galleria Centre after coasting to victory in the Georgia Republican presidential primary. 

It's the same venue where Gingrich learned he would become the House Speaker during his time as East Cobb's Congressman. 

A few sound bites from his speech, with more at the : 

"Tomorrow we begin another chapter in the fight for the soul of the Republican Party. I believe I am the one candidate who has the ability to debate Barack Obama decisively."

"I'd love to debate this president, because his speeches are so deliciously incoherent."

"There can be a better vision in practical terms, and it's $2.50 a gallon for gas."

"We don't have to be trapped by a president who refuse to drill."

Updated: 7:50 p.m. 

Even before the polls closed in Georgia, Newt Gingrich declared that his win here Tuesday would trigger a comeback in his chances to win the Republican presidential nomination. 

According to the Huffington Post, he told supporters at a rally in Huntsville, Ala., that "with your help by the end of next week, we could really be in a totally new race."

The Alabama primary is next Tuesday. 

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been declared the winner of Tuesday's Vermont primary, and he also is the likely winner of the Virginia primary, which was limited to him and Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.

Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum were not on the ballot in Virginia, which went for President Barack Obama in the 2008 general election but is prime Republican territory in 2012. 

The Ohio primary is neck-and-neck between Romney and Santorum. 

Updated: 7:25 p.m. 

The Associated Press has called Georgia for Gingrich. 

We are still awaiting the first returns in Cobb for the presidential primary, the Cobb, Marietta, Powder Springs and Austell Sunday alcohol sales referenda and a Marietta school bond issue. 

Updated: 7:05 p.m. 

Shortly after the polls closed both CNN and Fox News called the Georgia Republican presidential primary for Newt Gingrich, who represented East Cobb's 6th Congressional District as U.S. House Speaker. 

Gingrich is awaiting elections results at the Renaissance Waverly at the Cobb Galleria tonight; for continuous updates from there and the other presidential candidates' headquarters.

We'll have the Cobb vote breakdown and the Cobb Sunday alcohol sales referendum as we get it from Cobb Elections, which also posts totals on its website. 

Updated: 12:05 p.m. 

Voting was sporadic at a sampling of East Cobb precincts Tuesday morning, ranging from generally light at  to rather brisk at . 

A poll official at Mt. Zion told East Cobb Patch that approximately 170 had voted by 9:15 a.m.

Mt. Zion is the home church of Georgia U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, who has not endorsed a candidate in the Republican primary. 

But prominent East Cobb elected officials offered their support to GOP candidates well before election day. 

Former Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens, now the Georgia Attorney General, endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. 

Two leading members of the Cobb legislative delegation, State Sen. Judson Hill and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, have been actively campaigning for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who represented East Cobb in Congress.

East Cobb Patch will provide more updates on election results and reaction on the primary and the Cobb Sunday alcohol sales referendum all day Tuesday.

How did you vote in the Georgia presidential primary? And the Cobb Sunday alcohol sales referendum? Tell us in the comments section.

Original report: 

East Cobb voters are going to the polls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today to vote in the Georgia Presidential Primary and in the Cobb Sunday alcohol sales referendum. 

Former East Cobb House Speaker Newt Gingrich is leading most polls in the four-man Republican field, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum battling for second. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is also on the ballot.

The Republican primary is not winner-take-all. Instead, the 76 Georgia delegates—the most up for grabs in today's Super Tuesday slate—will be awarded on a proportional basis. 

President Barack Obama is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

For a statewide, Patch-level view of the presidential race, check out of the action at the polls.

Voters in unincorporated Cobb and the city of Marietta will be voting on whether to allow retail outlets to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday. Numerous related measures, including in the city of Smyrna, passed easily last fall.

In Cobb early voting that concluded last week, 11,205 Republicans voted, with 883 Democratic and 91 nonpartisan ballots cast in the presidential primary.

As of Friday 2,886 Republicans had cast absentee ballots, along with 253 Democrats and 18 nonpartisan voters. All totaled, that's 15,336 votes as of Friday.

In presidential primaries on election day, there is usually a turnout in the low 30 percent range, said Janine Eveler, director of Cobb Elections.

Around the state early voting figures were down, according to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp. 

Please return to East Cobb Patch for updates during the day Tuesday and on Tuesday night with complete results and reaction.

EAST COBB VOTING PRECINCTS

(ZIP codes 30062, 30067, 30068)

• Chestnut Hil: Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, 2663 Johnson Ferry Rd.
• Dickerson: , 855 Woodlawn Rd. 
• Dodgen: , 1725 Bill Murdock Rd.
• Eastside 01: , 1190 Indian Hills Pkwy.
• Eastside 02: , 2450 Lower Roswell Rd.
• Elizabeth 03: Marietta Alliance Church, 1787 East Piedmond Rd.
• Elizabeth 04: Maretta Church of God, 1083 Allgood Rd.
• Fullers Park: , 3499 Robinson Rd.
• Garrison Mill: Garrison Mill Elementary School, 4111 Wesley Chapel Rd.
• Hightower: , 3905 Post Oak Tritt Rd.
• Marietta 6A: , 1205 Merritt Rd.
• Marietta 6B: Mount Paran Church of God North, 1700 Allgood Rd.
• Mount Bethel 01: , 955 Johnson Ferry Rd.
• Mount Bethel 03: , 4400 Lower Roswell Rd.
• Mount Bethel 04: , 4385 Lower Roswell Rd.
• Murdock: , 2320 Murdock Rd.
• Pope: , 3001 Hembree Rd.
• Powers Ferry: , 505 Powers Ferry Rd.
• Roswell 01: , 5240 Roswell Rd.
• Roswell 02: , 1770 Johnson Ferry Rd.
• Sewell Mill 01: , 1415 Old Canton Rd.
• Sewell Mill 03: , 675 Holt Rd.
• Shallowford Falls: Shallowford Falls Elementary School, 3529 Lassiter Rd.
• Sope Creek 01: , 3401 Lower Roswell Rd.
• Sope Creek 02: , 3320 Paper Mill Rd.
• Sope Creek 03: Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 4814 Paper Mill Rd.
• Terrell Mill: , 2570 Lower Roswell Rd.
• Timber Ridge: , 5000 Timber Ridge Rd.
• Tritt: , 3010 Johnson Ferry Rd.