Republican wins runoff in Cherokee County Georgia House district
Republican Bill Fincher won a runoff special election Tuesday for a Cherokee County-based state House seat in the Georgia General Assembly.
Fincher defeated Democrat Sanders to represent House District 23, which covers Canton and unincorporated parts of Cherokee County. He won with 71% of the vote in a low-turnout election, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s office.
Fincher will replace former Republican state Rep. Mandi Ballinger, who died of cancer in October.
“I’m thrilled. This is a victory for our community. The people came forward,” Fincher told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m humbled by this, and I want to serve this community and help us with the problems we’re confronted with.”
Fincher, a former prosecutor, said the biggest issues facing Cherokee residents are high property taxes and transportation challenges.
“We need to coordinate better with the Department of Transportation and get these intersections moving (so) people can get to where they want to go,” he said.
The runoff took place after none of the candidates in a six-way race in November received the constitutional majority required to win outright. Both Fincher and Sanders were the top two finishers, each notching about 27% of the vote.
With Fincher’s win — after several special elections in the Georgia General Assembly this fall and winter and two recent resignations — Republicans hold a 101-seat majority to Democrats’ 79 seats.
Though most Democrats saw winning the Republican stronghold of Cherokee as a long-shot, they hoped to maintain enthusiasm after another Democrat flipped a solidly Republican seat near Athens last month.
About the Author
Michelle Baruchman covers the Georgia House of Representatives and statewide issues. She is a politics news and enterprise reporter covering statewide political stories.
