Recount confirms Chandler wins state House race in Gwinnett

State Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson, defeated Democratic challenger Donna McLeod.

State Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson, defeated Democratic challenger Donna McLeod.

New results from a Gwinnett County House of Representatives race confirm the Republican incumbent defeated a Democratic challenger by a narrow margin.

State Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson, won re-election by a 222-vote margin over Democrat Donna McLeod, according to the results of a recount conducted Thursday. Chandler picked up a single vote from the first official results released earlier this week. McLeod requested the recount after losing by less than 1 percent of votes cast in the race.

The results confirm that District 105 has become one of the most competitive House districts in the state. Chandler, a retired school counselor who now works as a consultant and trainer, has had several close races.

She was first elected in 2012 with just 51 percent of the vote. Two years later she received 53 percent of the vote, but that was still one of the closest legislative races in the state.

This year fellow Republican lawmakers contributed at least $86,250 to her re-election campaign. Last year the General Assembly redrew the district's boundaries to make it more Republican – a move that has since come under scrutiny from voting rights advocates.