Politics
Politics

2 Republicans advance to runoff for South Georgia House seat

11/6/18 - Roswell - A steady steam of people vote at the St Mary's Orthodox Church in Roswell. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

11/6/18 - Roswell - A steady steam of people vote at the St Mary's Orthodox Church in Roswell. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
Feb 13, 2019

Two Republican candidates will face off in a runoff election next month for a South Georgia seat in the state House of Representatives.

None of the four candidates in the race won a majority in Tuesday's special election for House District 176. The seat became open when former Gov. Nathan Deal appointed state Rep. Jason Shaw to the Georgia Public Service Commission in November.

Voters will return to the polls on March 12 to choose between Franklin Patten and James Burchett. Patten is the owner of Southern Financial Systems and chairman of the Lanier County Board of Education, and Burchett is an attorney and a member of the Waycross Chamber of Commerce.

Both Patten and Burchett received more votes than the two Democrats in the race, Barbara Seidman and Barbara Griffin.

The district covers Atkinson and Lanier counties, as well as parts of Lowndes and Ware counties.

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.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' Senate campaign used Sen. Jon Ossoff's Senate portrait (center) to create an AI-generated video of Ossoff talking about his vote not to end the government shutdown. The video was reposted to Collins' campaign account on X (left). (Screenshot)

Credit: Screenshot

OPINION

Jon Ossoff warned about deepfakes. Now he is one.

A Mike Collins campaign video uses AI to make Sen. Jon Ossoff say outlandish things. A proposed state law would rein in such uses of AI in campaigns.

LISTEN

What do Trump’s pardons mean for the Georgia election interference case?

The AJC "Politically Georgia" team discusses President Trump’s recent pardons.

Georgia’s Democratic members of Congress pan shutdown deal

The U.S. Senate has signed off on legislation to end the government shutdown, and the House is scheduled to follow despite objections from Democrats.

The Latest

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Credit: AP

LISTEN

What do Trump’s pardons mean for the Georgia election interference case?

OPINION

Jon Ossoff warned about deepfakes. Now he is one.

Georgia’s Democratic members of Congress pan shutdown deal

Featured

The DeKalb school district is suing to recover money spent on cellphone lockers, plus money spent on implementing social media guidelines and hosting associated events, lost teaching time and to hire extra school counselors. (The New York Times file)

Credit: NYT

DeKalb school district reveals $4M social media addiction problem

The district is suing social media companies to get them to pay for addressing students' addiction to apps like Instagram. The companies argue they aren't to blame.

Atlanta airport sees continued cancellations because of shutdown

More than 115 flight cancellations were recorded on a quieter frigid Tuesday morning, far below Saturday's surge of 370.

For Ossoff and Georgia Democrats, the shutdown fight is the message

The fight over the federal government shutdown has allowed Georgia Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, to show that they have the grit to stand up to Republicans.