Ex-lawmaker, former Cobb school board member head to Georgia Senate runoff
A former Cobb County Board of Education member and a retired Georgia House member will go head-to-head in a runoff next month after being the two top vote-getters on Tuesday’s six-way special Senate election.
Former Cobb County Board of Education member Jaha Howard, a Democrat from Smyrna, received the most votes, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. Howard will face former state Rep. Roger Bruce. A runoff is required when no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
The two are vying to replace Jason Esteves, also a Democrat, who resigned from the Georgia Senate earlier this year to focus on his campaign for governor.
Voters in Senate District 35, which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties, will head back to the polls next month for the runoff. Howard and Bruce emerged from a race that included two other Democrats, a Republican and an independent — all first-time candidates.
Paige Overstreet stopped by King Spring Baptist Church in Smyrna on Tuesday afternoon to cast her ballot. A Bible study instructor at King Spring Baptist, the Smyrna resident said she knows special elections often have lower voter turnout, but she was aware of the special election happening since her church is her polling place.
“I feel like it’s my civic duty,” she said. “If these people are going to be representing me, I want to make my voice heard.”
Overstreet said the issue she most cares about is the “fair and equitable treatment of all people,” though she said she knows it’s a tall task for a state senator to try to tackle. She declined to say who she voted for.
Rick Goss, a voter who lives in unincorporated Cobb County, said he made a point to vote Tuesday despite special elections typically having low turn outs.
Goss also declined to say who he voted for but said he hopes whoever is elected can keep taxes down.
Howard, a Smyrna resident and pediatric dentist, first ran for state Senate in 2017, also to fill the unfinished term of a senator who resigned to run for governor, losing in a runoff. Since then, he’s served one term on the Cobb school board. He’s also unsuccessfully run for state school superintendent and county commission.
Esteves’ resignation lured Bruce back into politics less than a year after he retired from a 22-year House career. Bruce said one reason he decided to run is because he believes the time between Esteves’ resignation and the special election wasn’t enough for voters to vet a candidate and “pick someone long term.” If elected, he said he likely wouldn’t seek another term in 2026.
Though not making it to a runoff, Republican candidate Josh Tolbert finished in third place, receiving more votes than two Democrats in a district that leans Democratic. The district has changed shape a few times in at least the past decade. Eight years ago, a version of the district was represented by a Republican senator. A Democrat has held the seat since 2017.
Independent candidate Corenza Morris and Democrats Erica-Denise Solomon and John Williams also vied for the seat.
The runoff will be held Dec. 16.
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
