Republican Chuck Payne won Tuesday's special election runoff to replace former state Sen. Charlie Bethel, R-Dalton, filling the final vacant seat in the Georgia Legislature.
Unofficial results show Payne cruised in the contest against Debby Peppers, an attorney who ran as an independent in the race but had backing from many Democrats. The candidates had been the top vote-getters in the original Dec. 13 special election, although that race included three other Republicans.
“When I retired from 30 years of service to our at-risk youth, I had no idea that God would soon open a door for service in a different role,” said Payne, who was at the Capitol on Wednesday. He is expected to be sworn in either next week or the week after. “I want to thank my family, friends, the voters of the 54th Senate district and those from across Georgia who believed in us and who stood with us,” he said.
A former chairman of the Whitfield County Republican Party, Payne also worked on the Georgia presidential campaign of Dr. Ben Carson. His new district includes parts or all of Gordon, Murray, Pickens, and Whitfield counties in north Georgia.
Bethel won a fourth term in November. But a day after the election, Gov. Nathan Deal announced his appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
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