ATLANTA -- Voters headed for the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots for some hotly contested races. Among the races, was the Democratic race for U.S. Senate -- and Jim Martin emerged the winner.

Georgia voters had to decide between DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and former state lawmaker Jim Martin. The two emerged from a five-man July primary, but neither cemented the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

Jones conceded the race just before 9:30 p.m. with 78% of the precincts reporting. "I accept God's will," Jones told reporters.

"There is something special going on in Georgia and I'm honored, along with you, to be a part of that," said Martin Tuesday night.

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Martin will face Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in November.

Jones and Martin were the top vote getters in the state's five-man primary July 15. Jones won 40 percent of the vote and Martin 34 percent.

Martin, 62, entered the race at the urging of party leaders in Washington and his campaign has been supported by an infusion of cash from Democratic political action committees.

Only 18 percent of registered voters turned out in July and even fewer voters returned to the polls for Tuesday's runoff.

Chambliss has $4 million in his campaign warchest and faced no primary opponent.

DeKalb County CEO

Voting in DeKalb County was expected to be slightly higher than other Georgia counties, and not just because of their native son's name on the Senate ballot.

The county's residents also had to decide the county's next chief executive in a contest between Democrats Burrell Ellis and state Rep. Stan Watson.

Ellis was elected DeKalb County's new CEO.

With no Republican in the race, Ellis becomes the next leader of DeKalb's more than 700,000 residents.

Ellis, a county commissioner, earned almost twice as many votes as Watson in July's primary, but he failed to get a majority of votes. He's running as a consensus-builder who can work with the county's commissioners -- and a contrast to Jones, who often fought with the board.

Watson, meanwhile, has vowed to be the best representative of the diverse communities in the county. And he had attracted support among Republicans, including state Rep. Fran Millar, who praised Watson's integrity.

Clayton County Sheriff's Race

Victor Hill earned national headlines -- and plenty of grief within Clayton County -- when he fired 27 deputies after taking office in January 2005. The deposed deputies filed a lawsuit and later settled the case, costing Clayton County millions of dollars.

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Hill faced a bitter runoff challenge from Kem Kimbrough, an attorney who has criticized Hill for damaging the morale of the county's employees. Hill, Kimbrough is quick to point out, still faces more than 70 pending complaints from staffers.

Hill, though, has depicted himself as an alternative to the "corruption" he said is gripping the south Atlanta county. He also has touted his record reducing crime, including the closing of dozens of drug houses and the arrest of scores of criminals.