To read all of InsiderAdvantage Georgia’s daily news, SUBSCRIBE HERE. *Subscription includes a complimentary subscription to JAMES Magazine.
Early voting has begun in the Jan. 3 special election to fill the seat of the late Speaker of the House, David Ralston, who died in November following a long illness. Ralston was first elected to the District 7 seat in 2002, and was voted in as the 73rd Speaker of the House in 2010.
Five candidates have qualified to be on the ballot for the special election and all five are Republicans. The candidates are:
● Johnny Chastain
● Justin Heitman
● Brian K. Pritchard
● Sheree Ralston
● Richie Stone
Perhaps the most well-known of the candidates is Sheree Ralston, the widow of the late Speaker. She currently serves as the Fannin County Development Authority’s Executive Director and says she is running to finish the work her late husband started.
“I’m running to complete the unfinished work of my husband, David Ralston, specifically as it relates to mental health reform and advancing and protecting the interests of Georgia’s 7th House District,” Ralston said in her announcement. “David was our champion and voice at the Capitol, and, if elected, that’s what I intend to be as well.”
Brian K. Pritchard of Cherry Log in Gilmer County was the first to throw his hat in the ring. Pritchard works as a radio personality in North Georgia and serves as CEO of media company FetchYourNews. Soon after his announcement, reports spread that Pritchard faces accusations of voter fraud by the State Elections Board for which he has not been charged.
According to reports, the election board’s accusations of voter fraud against Pritchard stem from alleged instances first reported six years ago. This report was based on transcripts from the State Election Board’s meeting on Feb. 10, 2021.
The report stated that in May 2016, the state elections board received information that Pritchard registered and voted in Gilmer County “for several years while serving a felony probation sentence.”
It went on to say that “Pritchard had been recorded as a Gilmer County resident since Jan. 29, 2008, when he registered to vote. In May 1996 he pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to two counts of forgery and one count of theft by failing to make required disposition funds, all felonies. For his sentence, Pritchard was ordered to pay $33,629 in restitution fees and court costs and served probation that was extended on April 4, 2004, until Sept. 27, 2011.”
Pritchard has said that “No one’s going to keep me out of this race.”
Others in the race include Johnny Chastain, a banker who also serves on the Fannin County Development Authority, U.S. Navy veteran and Gilmer County airport manager Justin Heitman and Gilmer County filmmaker Richie Stone.
Advance absentee and in-person voting began on Dec. 12 and will run through Dec. 30. However, the elections office will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 23-26 and on Jan. 2.
If needed, a runoff will be held on Jan. 31, 2023, according to a Georgia Secretary of State’s office press release.
This district covers northwestern Dawson and all of Fannin and Gilmer counties.
