3 Georgia General Assembly seats up for grabs in Tuesday special election

Voters will select candidates for two state House seats and one state Senate post in separate special elections called to fill vacancies.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday in three Georgia General Assembly elections. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

By Chris Joyner

12 hours ago

From far northwest Georgia, down to metro Atlanta and across to Augusta, voters will head to the polls Tuesday to fill three vacant General Assembly seats in an unusual, off-schedule election.

Here’s a quick look at the races and an explanation of why some Georgians are voting.

House District 94

Former state Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, resigned in January and pleaded guilty to federal charges that she fraudulently applied for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resignation triggered a special election to fill her seat for the remainder of the year.

The district covers parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. Four Democratic candidates — Kelly Kautz, Audrey Lux, Venola Mason and Ikenna Ugwumadu — are on the ballot.

House District 130

Six candidates are running to replace state. Rep. Lynn Heffner in this Augusta-area district.

Heffner, D-Augusta, resigned her seat earlier this year saying that her home suffered so much damage during Hurricane Helene in 2024 that she could no longer live inside the district.

The candidates running include Republicans David Carson and Thomas McAdams and Democrats Sha’Qunta Calles, Karen Gordon, Sheila Clark Nelson and LaFawn Pinkney-Mealing.

Read about that race here.

Senate District 53

Former state Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, resigned his seat earlier this year to launch a bid to replace former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. That special election is Tuesday, but Moore’s vacant seat has drawn four contenders.

The field includes Republicans Denise Pierce Burns, Blake Elsberry and Lanny Thomas, and Democrat John Bentley (Jack) Zibluk.