Mayo, Armstrong advance to runoff posted Saturday, March 24th, 2012 @ 10:12 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo will square off against retired physician Ray Armstrong in the April 21 general election for Monroe Mayor. Complete but unofficial results from the Louisiana Secretary of State showed Mayo with a six point lead over Armstrong. Mayo drew 42 percent of voters while Armstrong secured 36 percent of the vote. Former Mayo administration employee Johnny Riley finished a distant third, with 20% of the vote. Perennial mayoral candidate Clint Thomas secured 88 votes, or less than one percent. Meanwhile, Steve Hunter's time as mayor of Richwood will come to an end in January. Hunter's reelection bid failed and Alvin Jackson will be the next mayor, having secured 54 percent of votes cast. Former U.S. Rep. John Cooksey will return to a life in politics. Cooksey defeated Republican National Committee vice chairman Ruth Ulrich for the Republican State Central Committee district 16 subdistrict A post. Cooksey garnered almost 60 percent of total votes cast to take the post Ulrich has held since 2008. Ulrich's defeat for the state central committee post means that she will have to give up the powerful vice chairmanship of the RNC. In West Monroe, Staci Albritton handily dispatched two challengers in her bid to fill the unexpired term of Sam Yeager on the West Monroe Board of Aldermen. Albritton drew more than 63 percent of all votes cast, beating by a 3-1 margin her nearest competitor, Johnny Carter. And former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum came out on top of a crowded Republican field of four, drawing 49 percent of votes cast in the GOP presidential preference primary. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed second, with 26 percent of the vote. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich placed a distant third, garnering just shy of 16 percent of votes cast. For complete election covered, pick up the March 29 edition of The Ouachita Citizen.