Linda McDaniel easily defeated incumbent tax commissioner Lisa Wright, taking more than 60 percent of ballots cast.
McDaniel outpolled Wright 11,885-6,903, with approximately 800 absentee ballots remaining to be counted.
In other contested races, Beth Rahn Mosley and Richard Rafter are headed to a runoff for the probate court judge position. Mosley received 7,218 votes while Rafter had 6,413. Judy Suhor, the chief clerk who has been running the office since Frances Seckinger's sudden retirement this spring, finished with 2,729 votes.
Scott Hinson and Scott Lewis will face off in the runoff next month for the chief magistrate position. Hinson had 6,257 votes while Lewis had 4,253. Stan Mann received 3,355 and Solomon Smith had 2,322 votes.
Troy Alford retained his Board of Education District 2 seat, beating challenger Talbert Edenfield 1,691-833.
Incumbent John Barrow will return to Congress for a third term, outpolling Republican challenger John Stone 137,353-74,695, though Stone won Effingham County 11,033-7,830.
Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss fended off a late challenge from Jim Martin, taking 52.1 percent of the vote statewide. Chambliss, who had 1,450,235 votes across the Peach State, received 12,548 votes in Effingham. Martin tallied 5,387 votes.
Effingham voters also gave strong backing to Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, giving the longtime Arizona senator 14,644 votes. Barack Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, got 4,722 votes.
For more on Tuesday's results, see Friday's Effingham Herald.