Politics
Politics

Voters send Georgia House election to a runoff between 2 Democrats

Mark Baker and Derrick Jackson lead field of 5 Democrats for south metro seat
A special election for a south Metro Atlanta seat in the Georgia House is heading to a runoff between Democrats Mark Baker and Derrick Jackson. (Natrice Miller/ natrice.miller@ajc.com)

Credit: Natrice Miller

Credit: Natrice Miller

A special election for a south Metro Atlanta seat in the Georgia House is heading to a runoff between Democrats Mark Baker and Derrick Jackson. (Natrice Miller/ natrice.miller@ajc.com)
By Mark Niesse
May 17, 2023

A runoff will decide a race between two Democrats seeking the last vacant seat in the Georgia House, when former City of South Fulton Councilman Mark Baker will face former state Rep. Derrick Jackson.

Baker and Jackson each received about 33% of votes cast among five candidates in the special election Tuesday for the district covering parts of Fulton and Fayette counties, according to unofficial results.

Because they fell short of the majority of votes needed to win outright, a runoff will be held June 13.

The winner will take the seat previously held by state Rep. Tish Naghise, a first-term Democrat from Fayetteville who died in March.

Baker, who served as one of the first councilman in the young City of South Fulton, led the field in the low-turnout race for House District 68.

Jackson, who finished in sixth place in the nine-candidate Democratic primary for lieutenant governor last year, trailed closely behind.

They defeated three other Democrats: Taiwo Idowu, Jane Williams and John Culbreth.

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.

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