Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2:03 p.m.: ADDS Election Day gallery
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 11:11 a.m.: CORRECTS Chris Stacy is Riceboro mayor
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1:36 a.m.: ADDS Election Day photos
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 11:24 p.m.: ADDS McCord at victory party
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 11:12 p.m.: ADDS congratulations from Brown
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 11:08 p.m.: ADDS comments from Williams victory party
Malcolm Williams is the mayor-elect of Midway, according to unofficial results from the Liberty County Registration and Elections Office.
“I want to thank my family, the voters, the citizens of Midway,” Williams said outside his victory party on Butler Avenue. “You spoke. You got the super council in and we just needed the last piece, which was me. And we’re going to be moving our city forward….Next time someone asks, ‘Where is the city of Midway?’, tell them between goodness and a half a mile to greatness.”
Brown posted a congratulatory message on Williams’ Facebook page late Tuesday night: “I want to Congratulate Mr Williams for his win and I wish him much success, you’ve earned it!”
Unofficial results
With the single precinct reporting, Williams beat fellow councilman Stanley Brown 195 to 150, a difference of 45 votes and a far wider margin than the two votes which had separated them in the three-way primary.
In early voting, Williams beat Brown by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, 109 votes to 67. Turnout for early voting before Thanksgiving was 11.1%. Only four votes separated the candidates on in-person Election Day voting, with Williams taking 86 votes to Brown’s 82 and 10.59% turnout.
A crowd discusses early voting returns in the Midway mayoral runoff between Malcolm Williams and Stanley Brown, Dec. 2, 2025. Williams beat Brown with nearly a 2-to-1 margin in early voting.
Overall turnout in Midway for the runoff was a whopping 21.75%, with 345 of 1,586 registered voters casting ballots.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us”
Williams campaigned in front of the polls on Election Day despite cold rain and fog. Brown’s backers said they did not know where he was this morning and at mid-afternoon. He has not responded to The Current GA since Nov. 24 and was not at his campaign tent at the polling place to be interviewed.
Midway City Councilman Malcolm Williams campaigns under a tarp on the last day of the runoff with Councilman Stanley Brown, Dec. 2, 2025. Despite rain, cold, and fog, 21.75% of eligible voters turned out for the race. A strong showing in early voting put Williams over the top.
During the runoff, Brown claimed Williams was too close to the county, but never explained what that meant. Williams denied Brown’s allegation that Williams planned to get rid of the city’s new fire department, saying he voted against the plan due to costs and the state of the existing fire station. That building is still being rehabbed as of publication.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Williams said Tuesday night. “Not a lot of work, just growing pains that Midway has right now.”
Rain, fog, and cold made for miserable Election Day weather for the Stanley Brown and Malcolm Williams camps outside the polls in Midway, Dec. 2, 2025.
Midway mayoral candidate Stanley Brown kept a low profile in the Dec. 2, 2025 runoff, relying on strategically parked vehicles with his campaign signs. Brown said his opponent, Malcolm Williams, would get rid of the city’s new fire department; Williams denied the claim.
Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams (right) hugs retired Midway Police Ofc. Duvall Paige at Williams’ victory party, Dec. 2, 2025.
Retired Midway Police Ofc. Duvall Paige congratulates Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm X. Williams, Dec. 2, 2025.
Campaign Manager Gabrielle Williams (left) and her father, Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams, at his victory party in Midway, Dec. 2, 2025.
Liberty County District 1 Commissioner Marion Stevens at Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams’ Dec. 2 victory party.
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Kelvin Hill and Liberty County Historical Society President Hermina Glass-Hill celebrate at Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams’ Dec. 2, 2025 victory party.
Chequita Williams, aunt of Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams, relaxes at his victory party after a day of sign-waving, Dec. 2, 2025.
Acknowledging that the city has a ten-year note on its fire trucks, Williams said, “We’re going to move forward with what we do have. We’re going to find other streams of revenue because right now, the way things are getting ready to happen in the city, Love’s Truck Stop, Jones Petroleum Center, I mean, we’ve got so much going on that we’re going to find revenue that keeps this fire department doing what it needs to do.”
A family affair
Gabrielle Williams, Malcolm Williams’ campaign manager and daughter, told The Current GA about the runoff strategy after the two-vote margin with no majority (50% plus one vote) forced a runoff under Midway’s charter.
Gabrielle Williams, manager for Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm X. Williams’ campaign, at a Dec. 2, 2025 victory party. is also the daughter of State Rep. Al Williams. After 2 votes separated her father and Councilman Stanley Brown, “I went back and I said, don’t worry about it. We’re gonna make it a landslide.”
“I went back and I said, don’t worry about it. We’re gonna make it a landslide,” she said. “Our platform that we came out with was ‘Saturate Midway.’ Everywhere you turned around, you saw a sign, a balloon, a banner. The biggest thing for us was ‘Saturate Midway’ and remind them this is the guy, y’all did it the first time, let’s do it again, but let’s make it clear.”
That included door-knocking, a pamphlet, and over 400 copies of a letter Malcolm Williams wrote. “And that’s the one thing about my father,” she added. “What made me even prouder to be his campaign manager, seeing the conversations. My father met so many new people that didn’t even understand what their city had.”
As for Brown’s runoff strategy of attacking Williams, she said, “That’s not our business, unnecessary. One thing about my father, but our campaign, he kept it clean, because, guess what? This wasn’t about him, that wasn’t about Brown, this was about the people of Midway.”
Because “the city is in a restructure right now,” Gabrielle Williams said, “this team right here? It’s bigger than us.” She cited issues like improved infrastructure and restoration of Cay Creek Nature Preserve: “We’re going to get along with the environmental community and all the different groups around here. We’re going to restore Cay Creek to what it respectfully is supposed to be.”
But the biggest issue this election has been the call for greater transparency from City Hall.
“Transparency is exactly what [the new mayor and council] expect to give this community,” she stated. “The citizens ask for more. I mean, even, like when we have business owners that we talk to, Shonda, that’s what they want, more transparency, more conversation. This is going to let them show up more at the council. I mean, this was conversation with Shonda, with Mr. Woods over here at IGA, the conversation with the guy at Yummy House.”
State Rep. Al Williams (left) and Olivia Williams (right) celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary the same day their son, Malcolm Williams, was elected Midway mayor, Dec. 2, 2025.
The mayor-elect’s parents, State Rep. Al Williams and Olivia Williams, also were celebrating their wedding anniversary on Election Night.
“Oh, what a night, what a night!” Rep. Williams laughed. “Forty-seven years today!”
The older Williams advised the new mayor and council, “Whatever you do, whatever you do, y’all stay together as a council and mayor. Don’t do what we’ve seen in some of these other municipalities. Stay together and work for the people.”
Some of the local leaders attending the Williams victory party included Councilmembers-elect Annie L. Foskey, Rhonda Thomas, and Vernon Donovan; District 1 County Commissioner Marion Stevens; District 2 County Commissioner Justin Frasier; Liberty County Historical Society President Hermina Glass-Hill and Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Kelvin Hill; Riceboro Mayor Chris Stacy; Liberty County GOP 3rd Vice-President Mike Navarro; Walthourville City Councilman Patrick Underwood; and U.S. House District 1 candidate Michael McCord.
Candiate for U.S. House District 1 Michael McCord (left) and Midway Mayor-elect Malcolm Williams (right) celebrate at Williams’ victory party, Dec. 2, 2025.
Councilmember-elect Janet Bryant Jones was absent due to a death in the family, according to Gabrielle Williams.
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