ATLANTA (AP) — Democrats have toppled two Republican incumbents in the Georgia state House, but won’t shrink the Republican majority as much as they once hoped.
With four more races called Wednesday, Republicans have 98 of the 180 seats in the House of Representatives, while Democrats have 78. If all the candidates leading on Wednesday win, Republicans would have 100 seats and Democrats would have 80. But the candidates in two of those races have fewer than 100 seats. votes, meaning these elections could lead to recounts.
Republicans held a 102-78 lead when voting began. Republican incumbents Mesha Mainor and Ken Vance lost to Democratic opponents, but Democratic efforts to oust three more Republican incumbents in Atlanta’s northern suburbs continued to fall short. That’s a victory for Republicans, who will avoid the headaches of a significantly smaller majority, and for Governor Brian Kemp, whose political organization has pumped $2 million into helping Republican candidates in the House of Representatives.
It was the first election after a court ordered lawmakers to draw new lines to create more black-majority districts. Because black voters strongly supported Democrats, that created some Democratic opportunities in the House of Representatives. But Republican Party mapmakers have redrawn Georgia’s 14 Congressional districts and 56 Senate districts, resulting in little meaningful partisan competition for those offices. The partisan balance in the Senate remained at 33 Republicans and 23 Democrats, as it was before the election, after all incumbents won.
“Senate Republicans completed the exercise tonight,” said Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy, a Republican from Macon.
Democratic leaders admitted they could not win a majority in the House of Representatives this year. But the minority party hoped to make progress toward a majority after Republicans held the line in 2022, when Kemp was reelected.
Democrats campaigned on overturning Georgia’s abortion restrictions, doing more to restrict guns and expanding the Medicaid program to more low-income adults. Republicans expressed support for low taxes, police and school vouchers.
“From historic tax cuts and investments in education to strengthening public safety, expanding access to health care and creating more opportunities to succeed, Georgia House Republicans continue to deliver – and tonight’s results reflect that,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican from Newington whose case for another term as leader was strengthened by the results: “We will continue to work hard, expand the tent of the Republican Party and tackle kitchen table issues that are important to families across the country.” stands.”
Ken Vance was a direct victim of redistricting, after his House district in the Milledgeville area near Macon was drawn and became majority black. Democrat Floyd Griffin, a former state senator and mayor of Milledgeville, defeated Vance.
Mainor, the other Republican incumbent who lost, was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party over disagreements over school vouchers and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. She lost overwhelmingly to Democrat Bryce Berry and had always faced an uphill climb in a central Atlanta district that is one of the most Democratic in the state.
One Democratic incumbent narrowly trailed — another consequence of the redistricting. Farooq Mughal of Dacula trailed Republican challenger Sandy Donatucci of Buford by fewer than 100 votes Wednesday. The Associated Press did not declare a winner in that race. Republicans redrew the Mughal district to make it more favorable to their party.
However, Republicans failed in their attempt to unseat Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark of Lilburn.
Democrats targeted Republican incumbents Scott Hilton of Peachtree Corners, Matt Reeves of Duluth and Deborah Silcox of Sandy Springs, centering on arguments around abortion and guns. But Hilton and Reeves won, and Silcox led Democratic challenger Susie Greenberg in an uncalled race on Wednesday.
Some Democrats outside the Atlanta area also had rough nights, with Republican vote share soaring in Georgia’s smaller cities and rural areas. Rep. Mack Jackson of Sandersville was less than 100 votes ahead of Republican Tracy Wheeler of Sparta in another uncalled race on Wednesday. Democrat Tangie Herring of Macon was slightly further ahead of Republican Noah Harbuck of Forsyth in a central Georgia district that was created during redistricting and had no incumbent official. But that race also remained unspoken.
Herring and Jackson both ran in districts with small black majorities, and higher votes for the Republican Party put the Democrats in danger. Like Herring and Jackson, longtime incumbent Patty Stinson of Butler had a close race in a rural, black-majority district, though she emerged with a clear victory.
“Rural Georgia is what really gets the votes for Republicans in Georgia,” Stinson said Wednesday. “As Democrats, we need to start paying more attention to rural Georgia.”
