As expected, no candidate was able to take 50% +1 of the vote in Northwest Georgia’s state Senate District 54, sending the race to a runoff on January 10th.
Republican Chuck Payne was the leading vote-getter at 37%, with Independent Debby Peppers some 450 votes behind at 26%.
The late race was to replace Charlie Bethel, who resigned from his seat upon being named to the Georgia Court of Appeals last month.
Payne, a former chairman of the Whitfield County Republican Party, (in a very red district) figures to have the edge heading into 2017, but turnout for special elections is notoriously low and that goes doubly for runoffs.
