Henry County will be represented by more Democrats than Republicans at the state capitol when the new legislative session starts in January, but State Senator Brian Strickland (R) held onto his seat in the biggest legislative contest of the night. The county delegation is comprised of two state senators and eight state representatives.
Senator Strickland received 52,010 votes to defeat Kelly Rose (D) with 49,660 votes. Senate district 17 represents south-central Henry County — including all of Hampton, Locust Grove, and McDonough — and portions of Rockdale and Newton Counties.
In state senate district 10, Senator Emanuel Jones (D) was unopposed. Jones was first elected to the state senate in 2004 representing parts of DeKalb and Henry Counties.
In the state house, Representative Sandra Givens Scott (D) (house 76), Representative Demetrius Douglas (D) (house 78) and Representative Pam Stephenson (D) (house 90) were unopposed in the general election. Representative El-Mahdi Holly (D) (house 111) won re-election against a write-in campaign.
Representative Karen Mathiak (R) (house 73) retained her seat representing the Hampton area and parts of Fayette and Spalding Counties. Mathiak received 15,537 votes to William Harris (D) with 12,374 votes.
Former city of Stockbridge councilwoman Regina Lewis-Ward (D) defeated Representative Dale Rutledge (R) to represent house district 109. The district includes parts of Stockbridge, Union Grove and Ola, and portions of Rockdale and Newton Counties. Lewis-Ward won 16,715 votes compared to 15,634 votes for Rutledge.
In house district 110 representing part of McDonough and southeast Henry County, Jackson resident Clint Crowe (R) will succeed Representative Andy Welch (R). Crowe received 15,635 votes against Democrat Ebony Carter with 12,294 votes.
Finally, Representative David Knight (R) retained his seat in house district 130. Knight gained 15,357 votes to 10,974 votes for Democratic challenger Sheila Henley. The district represents a small portion of Henry County in Locust Grove and portions of Lamar and Spalding Counties.
With Lewis-Ward winning house district 109, the Henry County legislative delegation will shift from a 5-5 split to 6-4 Democratic majority. The legislative delegation has major influence over the county’s charter and organizational structure, county commissioner salaries and local ballot issues such as this year’s referendum for tax allocation districts.
Visit here for county office results. Vote counts are from unofficial results as of 6:45 am on Wednesday, November 4.
