After no candidate succeeded in obtaining more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s state House primaries, the two special elections are headed for a runoff. One of those special elections has national implications.
Republican Devan Seabaugh will square off against Democrat Priscilla Smith for a seat in House District 34, in Cobb County. That seat could be an early indicator of voters’ satisfaction with President Joe Biden.
“Although it’s long been a GOP seat, House District 34 in Cobb County is considered an early test for suburban Atlanta Republicans after the state supported Joe Biden for president in November and Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in January for the U.S. Senate, all Democrats,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Seabaugh, a corporate executive, appears poised to win the runoff with relative ease after receiving 47 percent of the vote to Smith’s 25 percent in the five-way race. Smith is a cartoonist, known for her satire of former President Donald J. Trump.
That seat was formerly held by Rep. Bert Reeves (R) who resigned earlier this year to take a position at Georgia Tech.
The other seat up for grabs is in a solid Republican district.
Leesa Hagan and Wally Sapp will duke it out until the runoff election to see who will earn the open seat in House District 154. Both are Republicans.
Republicans in the state House have been on the move since the November election, attempting to prove their conservative chops after Biden narrowly won the state.
Along with the state Senate, it passed a new election integrity bill that, after it was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, caused major controversy nationwide.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Devan Seabaugh” by Devan Seabaugh. Photo “Priscilla Smith” by Priscilla Smith. Background Photo “Georgia Capitol” by Autiger. CC BY-SA 2.0.
