Early voting will begin Monday for the Aug. 10 runoff election.

The ballot features several contests for statewide office, including the Republican nomination for governor and attorney general, but the local focus is on the race for Dawson County clerk of court.

Justin Power and Gaye Cantrell advanced to the runoff from a field of 10 hopefuls July 20.

Power received 799 votes, or about 19 percent of the total, while Cantrell received 702 votes, or about 17 percent.

The winner will succeed Becky McCord, who resigned in March amid a criminal investigation into missing funds from the clerk’s office. 

In addition to getting the most votes July 20, campaign disclosure reports show the Power campaign also raised — and spent — the most money.

Power’s campaign contributions totaled $11,000, about $9,300 of which was spent.

Power, 28, said he has made a few changes to his campaign signs for the runoff, including adding the Aug. 10 date.

According to her filings, Cantrell spent about $4,900 of the nearly $5,000 she took in.

In his first bid for public office, Power said he believed the photo of himself and his wife on his campaign signs “probably helped a lot.”

He said he doesn’t plan to make many changes in his campaign style, other than to print a few more signs.

“With me, the message is the same that I’m just trying to spread to more people,” he said.

Cantrell, 51, said she believes the key to winning the runoff is “getting the voters back to the polls.”

“I’ll be reaching out to the voters who supported other candidates and asking the voters who voted for me to please return to the polls,” she said.

Cantrell also said she plans to meet as much of the voting public as possible to tout her leadership credentials.

“Management experience is an important quality for the person elected to this office,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell said she was pleased to be in the runoff and looking forward to meeting the voters.

Early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Aug. 6 at the Dawson County Voter Registration Office at 96 Academy Ave.