A north Georgia banker defeated the widow of late House Speaker David Ralston to win Ralston’s old House seat in a Republican runoff Tuesday.
The banker Johnny Chastain overcame development authority leader Sheree Ralston in House District 7 despite Ralston’s fundraising lead and endorsements by Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
David Ralston, who died in November, had represented the district. It includes Fannin, Gilmer and part of Dawson counties. Sheree Ralston and Chastain had advanced to a runoff after leading a five-candidate field on Jan. 3.
The District 7 runoff was one of four legislative special elections held Tuesday across Georgia. The other election in Northeast Georgia is headed to a runoff.
In House District 119, which includes most of Barrow County and a corner of Jackson County, Republicans Holt Persinger and Charlie Chase advanced to a Feb. 28 runoff after Persinger and Chase led a seven-candidate field, each winning more than 25% of the vote.
Persinger, a landscape architect from Winder, and Chase, a contractor from Winder, want to succeed Danny Rampey, who withdrew without taking office after being arrested on drug and theft charges.
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GPB News contributed to this report
