Runoff winners will try to unseat DeKalb state lawmakers in November
After winning DeKalb County runoffs Tuesday, candidates for seats in the Georgia General Assembly still face challenges in November's general election.
In a Brookhaven-area House district, attorney Meagan Hanson won a Republican Party runoff and will face freshman Democratic Rep. Taylor Bennett. Hanson defeated Alan Cole by 29 votes on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.
Freshman Republican Sen. JaNice Van Ness will be in for a rematch against former Democratic Rep. Tonya Anderson in November if Anderson's eight-vote runoff victory holds up. Provisional ballots haven't yet been counted in the Democratic primary between Anderson and Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler for a Senate district that includes parts of DeKalb, Newton and Rockdale counties. Van Ness defeated Anderson by 84 votes in a special election last year.
Former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones defeated legal support consultant Rhonda Taylor in the Democratic Party primary election runoff for a House covering southeast DeKalb and part of Rockdale County. Jones will be opposed by Republican Carl Anuszczyk in November.
Democratic Rep. Scott Holcomb will face Republican Lane Flynn, a small business owner, in the general election for a House seat covering parts of Chamblee, Doraville and Tucker. Flynn defeated Jim Duffie in Tuesday's runoff.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
