Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2016

Georgia 2016 elections Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Recalls • Candidate ballot access

2016 Georgia House Elections
Primary	May 24, 2016
General	November 8, 2016

All 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives were up for election in 2016. Democrats gained one seat in the November 2016 general election.^[1]

Introduction[edit]

Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Georgia House of Representatives:

Incumbents retiring[edit]

Fifteen incumbents did not run for re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Stephen Allison	Republican	House District 8
Mike Dudgeon	Republican	House District 25
Joe Wilkinson	Republican	House District 52
Margaret Kaiser	Democratic	House District 59
LaDawn Jones	Democratic	House District 62
Ronnie Mabra	Democratic	House District 63
Virgil Fludd	Democratic	House District 64
Matthew Ramsey	Republican	House District 72
Dee Dawkins-Haigler	Democratic	House District 91
Tom Rice	Republican	House District 95
Hugh Floyd	Democratic	House District 99
B.J. Pak	Republican	House District 108
Barbara Sims	Republican	House District 123
Nikki Randall	Democratic	House District 142
E. Culver Kidd	Nonpartisan	House District 145

Note: Carl Gilliard (D) was elected to District 162 in a special election on April 26, 2016. He replaced Bob Bryant (D), who died in February 2016.

Note: District 29 and District 68 were vacant. They were previously represented by Carl Rogers (R) and Dustin Hightower (R).

2016 election competitiveness[edit]

Very few general election competitions in Georgia.

Ballotpedia conducts a yearly study of electoral competitiveness in state legislative elections. Details on how well Georgia performed in the study are provided in the image below. Click here for the full 2016 Competitiveness Analysis »

• In the Georgia State Senate, there were 17 Democratic incumbents and 39 Republican incumbents. Three incumbents faced primary challengers in the Democratic Party. There were nine primary challenges in the Republican primary.

• In the House, there were 61 Democratic incumbents, 118 Republican incumbents, and one independent incumbent. Fifteen state representatives faced primary opposition in the Democratic Party. There were 22 primary challenges in the Republican primary.

• Georgia's elections feature one of the lowest rates of general election competition in the nation with 80.5 percent of seats having only one major party candidate. From 2010-2014, the national average was at 38.0 percent.

• Overall, 18.6 percent of Democratic incumbents and 21.4 percent of GOP incumbents faced primary opposition in all of the state legislatures with elections in 2016.

• The cumulative figure for how many state legislative candidates faced no major party opposition in November in these states was 41.8 percent. This compares to 32.7 percent in 2010, 38.3 percent in 2012, and 43.0 percent in 2014.

• More details on electoral competitiveness in Georgia can be found below.

Races we watched[edit]

Ballotpedia identified 14 notable Georgia state primary races in 2016, 12 of which were state House contests.

Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable Georgia races »

Primary contests[edit]

State House District 7 (R)

The House Speaker faced a rematch with his 2014 primary challenger over taxes and transportation.

☑ David Ralston (Inc.)      ☐ Sam Snider

State House District 8 (R)

Four Republicans competed for an open seat left by the Republican incumbent.

☐ David Barton      ☐ Joshua Littrell       Kent Woerner      ☑ Matt Gurtler

State House District 52 (R)

Two Republicans competed for an open seat left by the Republican incumbent.

☑ Deborah Silcox      ☐ Graham McDonald

State House District 59 (D)

Three Democrats competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.

☑ David Dreyer       Janine Brown      ☐ Josh Noblitt

State House District 62 (D)

Six Democrats competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.

☐ Aaron Johnson      ☐ Joshua Butler      ☐ Larry Perkins      ☐ Rafer Johnson       Valerie Vie      ☑ William Boddie

State House District 72 (R)

Three Republicans competed for the open seat left by the Republican incumbent.

☐ James Clifton      ☑ Josh Bonner      ☐ Lisa Inagawa

State House District 79 (R)

A Republican incumbent ran for re-election despite an arrest on DUI charges.

☑ Tom Taylor (Inc.)      ☐ Josh Bonner      ☐ Tom Owens

State House District 80 (R)

Three Republicans competed for the GOP nomination to challenge the Democratic incumbent.

Alan Cole      ☐ Catherine S. Bernard      ☑ Meagan Hanson

State House District 82 (D)

A Democratic incumbent faced a primary challenger backed by teachers' unions.

☑ Mary Margaret Oliver (Inc.)      ☐ Brian Westlake

State House District 123 (R)

Three Republicans competed for the open seat left by the Republican incumbent.

☐ Lori Greenhill      ☑ Mark Newton      ☐ Wright McLeod

State House District 156 (R)

A Republican incumbent faced his 2014 primary challenger, whom he defeated by 71 votes in 2014.

☑ Greg Morris (Inc.)      ☐ Lee Burton

State House District 159 (R)

The state House majority leader faced a conservative challenger.

☑ Jon G. Burns (Inc.)      ☐ Daniel Almond

List of candidates[edit]

General election[edit]

2016 Georgia House general election candidates
District	Democrat	Republican	Other
1	No candidate	John Deffenbaugh: 15,786 (I) a
2	No candidate	Steve Tarvin: 17,938 (I) a
3	No candidate	Dewayne Hill: 19,071 a
4	No candidate	Bruce Broadrick: 11,335 (I) a
5	No candidate	John Meadows: 14,813 (I) a
6	No candidate	Jason Ridley: 14,654 a
7	No candidate	David Ralston: 21,666 (I) a
8	No candidate	Matt Gurtler: 24,824 a
9	No candidate	Kevin Tanner: 21,293 (I) a
10	No candidate	Terry Rogers: 18,168 (I) a
11	Brandon Crisp: 3,313	Rick Jasperse: 18,000 (I) a
12	No candidate	Eddie Lumsden: 15,880 (I) a
13	No candidate	Katie Dempsey: 14,476 (I) a
14	No candidate	Christian Coomer: 18,677 (I) a
15	Stephanie Lujan: 4,849	Paul Battles: 15,182 (I) a
16	No candidate	Trey Kelley: 17,296 (I) a
17	No candidate	Howard Maxwell: 20,415 (I) a
18	No candidate	Kevin Cooke: 16,474 (I) a
19	No candidate	Paulette Rakestraw: 19,802 (I) a
20	No candidate	Michael Caldwell: 23,543 (I) a
21	No candidate	Scot Turner: 23,967 (I) a
22	Oscar Hajloo: 5,216	Wes Cantrell: 25,794 (I) a
23	No candidate	Mandi Ballinger: 20,944 (I) a
24	No candidate	Sheri Gilligan: 25,996 (I) a
25	No candidate	Todd Jones: 26,162 a
26	No candidate	Geoff Duncan: 26,386 (I) a
27	No candidate	Lee Hawkins: 19,469 (I) a
28	No candidate	Dan Gasaway: 17,925 (I) a
29	No candidate	Matt Dubnik: 12,733 a
30	Michelle Jones: 5,302	Emory Dunahoo: 15,115 (I) a
31	No candidate	Tommy Benton: 21,810 (I) a
32	No candidate	Alan Powell: 18,783 (I) a
33	No candidate	Tom McCall: 19,190 (I) a
34	Justin Holsomback: 9,050	Bert Reeves: 15,886 (I) a
35	No candidate	Ed Setzler: 18,901 (I) a
36	No candidate	Earl Ehrhart: 26,807 (I) a
37	Bill Bolton: 10,567	Sam Teasley: 13,965 (I) a
38	David Wilkerson: 19,547 (I) a	No candidate
39	Erica Thomas: 18,097 (I) a	No candidate
40	Erick Allen: 13,781	Rich Golick: 15,863 (I) a
41	Michael Smith: 13,843 (I) a	No candidate
42	Stacey Evans: 11,384 (I) a	Matt Vaughn: 4,157
43	No candidate	Sharon Cooper: 20,889 (I) a
44	No candidate	Don Parsons: 21,759 (I) a
45	No candidate	Matt Dollar: 24,907 (I) a
46	No candidate	John Carson: 24,736 (I) a
47	No candidate	Jan Jones: 23,622 (I) a
48	No candidate	Betty Price: 17,886 (I) a
49	No candidate	Charles Martin Jr.: 20,599 (I) a
50	No candidate	Brad Raffensperger: 17,802 (I) a
51	No candidate	Wendell Willard: 19,210 (I) a
52	No candidate	Deborah Silcox: 21,263 a
53	Sheila Jones: 20,617 (I) a	No candidate
54	Bob Gibeling: 11,472	Beth Beskin: 17,620 (I) a
55	Marie Metze: 23,111 (I) a	No candidate
56	Mable Thomas: 16,683 (I) a	No candidate
57	Pat Gardner: 23,832 (I) a	No candidate
58	Park Cannon: 23,287 (I) a	No candidate
59	David Dreyer: 20,276 a	No candidate
60	Keisha Waites: 15,824 (I) a	Ralph Nobles: 1,443
61	Roger Bruce: 20,473 (I) a	No candidate
62	William Boddie: 23,562 a	No candidate
63	Debra Bazemore: 21,252 a	No candidate
64	Derrick Jackson: 21,251 a	No candidate
65	Sharon Beasley-Teague: 19,109 (I) a	Gordon Rolle: 4,190
66	Kim Alexander: 14,030 (I) a	Bruce Emory: 9,855
67	No candidate	Micah Gravley: 19,037 (I) a
68	No candidate	J. Collins: 19,500 a
69	No candidate	Randy Nix: 19,212 (I) a
70	No candidate	Lynn Smith: 20,682 (I) a
71	Cynthia Bennett: 6,933	David Stover: 20,361 (I) a
72	No candidate	Josh Bonner: 26,801 a
73	Rahim Talley: 8,610	Karen Mathiak: 15,661 a
74	Valencia Stovall: 14,995 (I) a	No candidate
75	Mike Glanton: 18,063 (I) a	No candidate
76	Sandra Scott: 19,734 (I) a	No candidate
77	Rhonda Burnough: 15,848 a	No candidate
78	Demetrius Douglas: 19,294 (I) a	No candidate
79	No candidate	Tom Taylor: 18,108 (I) a
80	Taylor Bennett: 12,100 (I)	Meagan Hanson: 12,386 a
81	Scott Holcomb: 9,921 (I) a	Lane Flynn: 6,912
82	Mary Margaret Oliver: 18,185 (I) a	No candidate
83	Howard Mosby: 24,122 (I) a	No candidate
84	Renitta Shannon: 25,287 a	No candidate
85	Karla Drenner: 17,927 (I) a	No candidate
86	Michele Henson: 19,124 (I) a	No candidate
87	Earnest Williams: 21,595 (I) a	No candidate
88	Billy Mitchell: 19,003 (I) a	No candidate
89	Stacey Abrams: 26,039 (I) a	No candidate
90	Pam Stephenson: 22,924 (I) a	No candidate
91	Vernon Jones: 18,161 a	Carl Anuszczyk: 6,973
92	Doreen Carter: 16,486 (I) a	No candidate
93	Dar'shun Kendrick: 22,741 (I) a	No candidate
94	Karen Bennett: 21,399 (I) a	No candidate
95	No candidate	Scott Hilton: 18,293 a
96	Pete Marin: 8,626 (I) a	Rick Underwood: 5,281
97	No candidate	Brooks Coleman: 20,171 (I) a
98	No candidate	David Clark: 19,463 (I) a
99	Brenda Lopez: 8,068 a	No candidate
100	Dewey McClain: 11,180 (I) a	No candidate
101	Samuel Park: 10,671 a	Valerie Clark: 10,211 (I)
102	Karen Ridgeway: 9,567	Buzz Brockway: 12,124 (I) a
103	No candidate	Timothy Barr: 23,755 (I) a
104	No candidate	Chuck Efstration: 19,776 (I) a
105	Donna McLeod: 12,189	Joyce Chandler: 12,411 (I) a
106	No candidate	Brett Harrell: 17,835 (I) a
107	No candidate	David Casas: 15,861 (I) a
108	T.R. Radjabov: 10,524	Clay Cox: 11,704 a
109	Jane Askew Rutledge: 11,389	Dale Rutledge: 15,507 (I) a
110	No candidate	Andy Welch: 18,003 (I) a
111	Darryl Payton: 13,542	Brian Strickland: 14,488 (I) a
112	No candidate	Dave Belton: 21,718 (I) a
113	Pam Dickerson: 18,834 (I) a	No candidate
114	No candidate	Tom Kirby: 22,186 (I) a
115	No candidate	Bruce Williamson: 20,644 (I) a
116	No candidate	Terry England: 19,144 (I) a
117	No candidate	Regina Quick: 18,374 (I) a
118	Spencer Frye: 16,223 (I) a	No candidate
119	No candidate	Charles Williams: 19,055 (I) a
120	No candidate	Trey Rhodes: 20,350 (I) a
121	No candidate	Barry Fleming: 20,582 (I) a
122	No candidate	Jodi Lott: 26,914 (I) a
123	No candidate	Mark Newton: 21,619 a
124	Henry Howard: 14,751 (I) a	No candidate
125	Sheila Clark Nelson: 15,120 a	No candidate
126	Gloria Frazier: 19,051 (I) a	No candidate
127	Brian Prince: 15,251 (I) a	No candidate
128	Mack Jackson: 15,747 (I) a	No candidate
129	No candidate	Susan Holmes: 18,206 (I) a
130	No candidate	David Knight: 16,655 (I) a
131	No candidate	Johnnie Caldwell: 18,712 (I) a
132	Bob Trammell: 9,750 (I) a	Gene King: 8,402
133	No candidate	John Pezold: 21,688 (I) a
134	No candidate	Richard H. Smith: 19,445 (I) a
135	Calvin Smyre: 10,991 (I) a	No candidate
136	Carolyn Hugley: 16,662 (I) a	No candidate
137	Debbie Buckner: 19,076 (I) a	No candidate
138	Bill McGowan: 7,917 a	Mike Cheokas: 7,661 (I)
139	Patty Bentley: 12,880 (I) a	No candidate
140	No candidate	Robert Dickey: 16,361 (I) a
141	No candidate	Allen Peake: 22,703 (I) a
142	Miriam Paris: 16,124 a	No candidate
143	James Beverly: 15,528 (I) a	No candidate
144	Joyce Denson: 7,305	Bubber Epps: 15,288 (I) a
145	Floyd Griffin: 8,316	Ricky Williams: 10,834 a
146	No candidate	Shaw Blackmon: 21,346 (I) a
147	No candidate	Heath Clark: 14,923 (I) a
148	No candidate	Buddy Harden: 15,059 (I) a
149	No candidate	Jimmy Pruett: 11,622 (I) a
150	No candidate	Matt Hatchett: 17,084 (I) a
151	No candidate	Gerald Greene: 12,675 (I) a	Kenneth Zachary Jr.: 7,726 (Ind.)
152	No candidate	Ed Rynders: 20,251 (I) a
153	Darrel Ealum: 14,841 (I) a	No candidate
154	Winfred Dukes: 17,073 (I) a	No candidate
155	No candidate	Clay Pirkle: 16,499 (I) a
156	No candidate	Greg Morris: 15,485 (I) a
157	No candidate	Bill Werkheiser: 13,009 (I) a
158	No candidate	Butch Parrish: 15,425 (I) a
159	No candidate	Jon Burns: 17,513 (I) a
160	James Woodall: 5,292	Jan Tankersley: 12,807 (I) a
161	No candidate	Bill Hitchens: 20,835 (I) a
162	Carl Gilliard: 15,092 (I) a	No candidate
163	J. Craig Gordon: 15,649 (I) a	No candidate
164	No candidate	Ron Stephens: 14,973 (I) a
165	Mickey Stephens: 18,197 (I) a	No candidate
166	No candidate	Jesse Petrea: 26,255 (I) a
167	No candidate	J.B. "Jeff" Jones: 16,871 (I) a
168	Al Williams: 12,939 (I) a	No candidate
169	No candidate	Dominic Lariccia: 13,521 (I) a
170	No candidate	Penny Houston: 15,558 (I) a
171	No candidate	Jay Powell: 14,662 (I) a
172	No candidate	Sam Watson: 12,898 (I) a
173	TC Hill: 8,021	Darlene Taylor: 12,578 (I) a
174	No candidate	John Corbett: 15,128 (I) a
175	No candidate	Amy Carter: 19,531 (I) a
176	No candidate	Jason Shaw: 14,891 (I) a
177	Dexter Sharper: 9,226 (I) a	Deidra White: 5,104
178	No candidate	Chad Nimmer: 17,354 (I) a
179	No candidate	Don Hogan: 17,055 a
180	No candidate	Jason Spencer: 16,168 (I) a
Notes: An (I) denotes an incumbent.

Primary election[edit]

2016 Georgia House primary candidates
District	Democrat	Republican
1	No candidate	John Deffenbaugh (I) a
2	No candidate	Steve Tarvin (I) a
3	No candidate	Dewayne Hill: 1,606 a Jeff Holcomb: 2,010 Jeremy Jones: 544
4	No candidate	Bruce Broadrick: 2,268 (I) a Kasey Carpenter: 1,900
5	No candidate	John Meadows (I) a
6	No candidate	Jason Ridley: 1,787 a Sarah Fields: 1,010 Tom Dickson: 2,766 (I)
7	No candidate	David Ralston: 6,560 (I) a Sam Snider: 3,374
8	No candidate	David Barton: 2,354 Joshua Littrell: 2,602 Kent Woerner: 2,621 Matt Gurtler: 4,016 a
9	No candidate	Kevin Tanner (I) a
10	No candidate	Terry Rogers (I) a
11	Brandon Crisp a	Rick Jasperse (I) a
12	No candidate	Eddie Lumsden (I) a
13	No candidate	Katie Dempsey (I) a
14	No candidate	Christian Coomer (I) a
15	Stephanie Lujan a	Paul Battles (I) a
16	No candidate	Trey Kelley (I) a
17	No candidate	Howard Maxwell: 2,097 (I) a Kerstin Liberty: 1,847
18	No candidate	Kevin Cooke (I) a
19	No candidate	Joe Duvall: 844 Matt Lowe: 501 Paulette Rakestraw: 1,634 (I) a
20	No candidate	Michael Caldwell (I) a
21	No candidate	Kevin Moore: 1,786 Scot Turner: 3,506 (I) a
22	Oscar Hajloo a	Wes Cantrell (I) a
23	No candidate	Mandi Ballinger (I) a
24	No candidate	Sheri Gilligan (I) a
25	No candidate	Stuart Jones: 926 Todd Jones: 3,529 a
26	No candidate	Geoff Duncan (I) a
27	No candidate	Lee Hawkins (I) a
28	No candidate	Dan Gasaway (I) a
29	No candidate	Matt Dubnik a
30	Michelle Jones a	Emory Dunahoo (I) a
31	No candidate	Tommy Benton: 3,649 (I) a Wes Lewis: 1,329
32	No candidate	Alan Powell (I) a
33	No candidate	Tom McCall (I) a
34	Justin Holsomback a	Bert Reeves: 2,835 (I) a Christopher Lowe: 734
35	No candidate	Ed Setzler (I) a
36	No candidate	Earl Ehrhart (I) a
37	Bill Bolton a	Sam Teasley (I) a
38	Connie Taylor: 742 David Wilkerson: 1,316 (I) a	No candidate
39	Erica Thomas: 1,256 (I) a Shelia Edwards: 854 Wayne Hobdy: 41	No candidate
40	Erick Allen a	Rich Golick (I) a
41	Michael Smith (I) a	No candidate
42	Stacey Evans (I) a	Matt Vaughn a
43	No candidate	Peter Minetos: 1,179 Sharon Cooper: 3,704 (I) a
44	No candidate	Don Parsons (I) a
45	No candidate	Matt Dollar (I) a
46	No candidate	John Carson (I) a
47	No candidate	Jan Jones (I) a
48	No candidate	Betty Price (I) a
49	No candidate	Charles Martin Jr. (I) a
50	No candidate	Brad Raffensperger (I) a
51	No candidate	Wendell Willard (I) a
52	No candidate	Deborah Silcox: 2,214 a Graham McDonald: 2,064
53	Sheila Jones (I) a	No candidate
54	Bob Gibeling a	Beth Beskin (I) a
55	Marie Metze (I) a	No candidate
56	Mable Thomas: 1,904 (I) a Marckeith DeJesus: 281 Mel Peoples: 249	No candidate
57	Pat Gardner (I) a	No candidate
58	Park Cannon (I) a	No candidate
59	David Dreyer: 1,610 a Janine Brown: 1,650 Josh Noblitt: 896	No candidate
60	Keisha Waites (I) a	Ralph Nobles a
61	Roger Bruce (I) a	No candidate
62	Aaron Johnson: 978 Joshua Butler: 277 Larry Perkins: 60 Rafer Johnson: 838 Valerie Vie: 1,223 William Boddie: 1,107 a	No candidate
63	Debra Bazemore: 1,221 a Jasmine Bowles: 733 Kelli Hooper: 681 Kenneth Kincaid: 477 Linda Pritchett: 1,025	No candidate
64	Derrick Jackson: 2,014 a Kathy Adams: 1,389 Terry Williamson: 405	No candidate
65	Sharon Beasley-Teague: 2,327 (I) a Sylvia Wayfer: 834	Gordon Rolle a
66	Kim Alexander (I) a	Bruce Emory: 2,126 a Francisco Artley: 517
67	No candidate	Micah Gravley (I) a
68	No candidate	J. Collins: 2,085 a Marc Lattanzio: 133 Tim Bearden: 1,702
69	No candidate	Randy Nix (I) a
70	No candidate	Lynn Smith (I) a
71	Cynthia Bennett a	David Stover (I) a
72	No candidate	James Clifton: 982 Josh Bonner: 4,084 a Lisa Inagawa: 1,783
73	Rahim Talley a	John Yates: 2,578 (I) Karen Mathiak: 2,450 a Mario Driver: 229
74	Valencia Stovall (I) a	No candidate
75	Drew Andrews: 1,275 Mike Glanton: 2,933 (I) a	No candidate
76	Sandra Scott: 3,203 (I) a Jeffery Benoit: 967	No candidate
77	Arthur Hughes: 274 Darryl Jordan: 1,475 (I) Rhonda Burnough: 1,354 a	No candidate
78	Charlton Bivins: 1,390 Demetrius Douglas: 3,062 (I) a	No candidate
79	No candidate	Tom Owens: 827 Tom Taylor: 2,191 (I) a
80	Taylor Bennett (I) a	Alan Cole: 846 Catherine S. Bernard: 707 Meagan Hanson: 785 a
81	Scott Holcomb (I) a	Alexa Mendez: 292 Jim Duffie: 470 Lane Flynn: 645 a
82	Brian Westlake: 806 Mary Margaret Oliver: 2,441 (I) a	No candidate
83	Howard Mosby (I) a	No candidate
84	Rahn Mayo: 2,992 (I) Renitta Shannon: 3,438 a	No candidate
85	Karla Drenner (I) a	No candidate
86	Joscelyn O'Neil: 1,023 Michele Henson: 3,234 (I) a	No candidate
87	Earnest Williams: 2,852 (I) a Ivy Green: 1,664	No candidate
88	Billy Mitchell (I) a	No candidate
89	Stacey Abrams (I) a	No candidate
90	Pam Stephenson (I) a	No candidate
91	Charles Hill: 1,010 David Neville: 385 Rhonda Taylor: 1,436 Vernon Jones: 2,712 a	Carl Anuszczyk a
92	Doreen Carter (I) a	No candidate
93	Dar'shun Kendrick (I) a	No candidate
94	Karen Bennett (I) a	No candidate
95	No candidate	Jay Lowe: 941 Scott Hilton: 2,300 a
96	Pete Marin (I) a	Rick Underwood a
97	No candidate	Brooks Coleman: 1,286 (I) a John Marsh: 327
98	No candidate	David Clark (I) a
99	Brenda Lopez: 566 a Jay Trevari: 412	No candidate
100	Dewey McClain (I) a	No candidate
101	Samuel Park a	Valerie Clark (I) a
102	Karen Ridgeway a	Buzz Brockway (I) a
103	No candidate	Timothy Barr (I) a
104	No candidate	Chuck Efstration (I) a
105	Donna McLeod: 638 a Perry Green: 309	David Crocker: 737 Joyce Chandler: 1,274 (I) a
106	No candidate	Brett Harrell: 1,494 (I) a Reynold Mason: 407
107	No candidate	David Casas (I) a
108	T.R. Radjabov a	Clay Cox: 1,751 a Patty Gabilondo: 1,262
109	Jane Askew Rutledge a	Dale Rutledge (I) a
110	No candidate	Andy Welch (I) a
111	Darryl Payton a	Brian Strickland (I) a
112	No candidate	Dave Belton (I) a
113	Pam Dickerson: 2,051 (I) a Sharon Henderson: 1,111	No candidate
114	No candidate	Jonathan Melton: 2,968 Tom Kirby: 988 (I) a
115	No candidate	Bruce Williamson (I) a
116	No candidate	Lucretia Consuela Hughes: 412 Terry England: 3,721 (I) a
117	No candidate	Regina Quick (I) a
118	Spencer Frye (I) a	No candidate
119	No candidate	Charles Williams (I) a
120	No candidate	Trey Rhodes (I) a
121	No candidate	Barry Fleming (I) a
122	No candidate	Jodi Lott (I) a
123	No candidate	Lori Greenhill: 269 Mark Newton: 3,930 a Wright McLeod: 3,385
124	Gregory Hill: 799 Henry Howard: 2,802 (I) a	No candidate
125	Earnest Smith: 1,497 (I) Sheila Clark Nelson: 1,978 a	No candidate
126	Gloria Frazier (I) a	No candidate
127	Brian Prince (I) a	No candidate
128	Mack Jackson (I) a	No candidate
129	No candidate	Susan Holmes (I) a
130	No candidate	David Knight (I) a
131	No candidate	Johnnie Caldwell (I) a
132	Bob Trammell (I) a	Gene King a
133	No candidate	John Pezold (I) a
134	No candidate	Richard H. Smith (I) a
135	Calvin Smyre (I) a	No candidate
136	Carolyn Hugley (I) a	No candidate
137	Debbie Buckner (I) a	No candidate
138	Bill McGowan a	Mike Cheokas: 3,122 (I) a Tommy Pilcher: 1,540
139	Patty Bentley (I) a	No candidate
140	No candidate	Robert Dickey (I) a
141	No candidate	Allen Peake (I) a
142	Gerald Harvey: 2,450 Miriam Paris: 2,925 a	No candidate
143	James Beverly (I) a	No candidate
144	Joyce Denson a	Bubber Epps (I) a
145	Floyd Griffin: 1,942 a Harold Simmons: 616 John Reid: 437	Ricky Williams: 2,918 a Tom Glover: 1,345
146	No candidate	Shaw Blackmon (I) a
147	No candidate	Heath Clark (I) a
148	No candidate	Buddy Harden (I) a
149	No candidate	Jimmy Pruett: 2,191 (I) a Mitsy Peterson: 1,185
150	No candidate	Matt Hatchett (I) a
151	No candidate	Gerald Greene (I) a
152	No candidate	Ed Rynders: 5,454 (I) a Mary Egler: 1,264
153	Antonio Screen: 662 Darrel Ealum: 2,812 (I) a Hat Edwards: 1,474	No candidate
154	Winfred Dukes (I) a	No candidate
155	No candidate	Clay Pirkle (I) a
156	No candidate	Greg Morris: 5,313 (I) a Lee Burton: 4,463
157	No candidate	Bill Werkheiser (I) a
158	No candidate	Butch Parrish (I) a
159	No candidate	Daniel Almond: 1,216 Jon Burns: 3,857 (I) a
160	James Woodall a	Jan Tankersley (I) a
161	No candidate	Bill Hitchens (I) a
162	Alicia Blakely: 732 Carl Gilliard: 1,837 (I) a Josey Sheppard: 773	No candidate
163	J. Craig Gordon (I) a	No candidate
164	No candidate	Ron Stephens (I) a
165	Mickey Stephens (I) a	No candidate
166	No candidate	Jesse Petrea (I) a
167	No candidate	Jeff Jones (I) a
168	Al Williams (I) a	No candidate
169	No candidate	Dominic Lariccia (I) a
170	No candidate	Penny Houston (I) a
171	No candidate	Jay Powell (I) a
172	No candidate	Sam Watson (I) a
173	TC Hill a	Darlene Taylor (I) a
174	No candidate	John Corbett (I) a
175	No candidate	Amy Carter (I) a
176	No candidate	Jason Shaw (I) a
177	Dexter Sharper: 1,446 (I) a Adrian Rivers: 520	Deidra White a
178	No candidate	Chad Nimmer (I) a
179	No candidate	Don Hogan a
180	No candidate	Jason Spencer (I) a
Notes: An (I) denotes an incumbent. a denotes an outright primary winner. denotes a candidate who moved on to a runoff election.

Margins of victory[edit]

The average margin of victory for contested races in the Georgia House of Representatives in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 180 races in the Georgia House of Representatives in 2016, 32 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 28 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.^[3]

Georgia House of Representatives: 2016 Margins of Victory Less than 10 Percent
District	Winning Party	Margin of Victory
District 40	R	7.0 percent
District 80	R	1.2 percent
District 101	D	2.2 percent
District 105	R	0.9 percent
District 108	R	5.3 percent
District 111	R	3.4 percent
District 132	D	7.4 percent
District 138	D	1.6 percent

Georgia House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis
Party	Elections won	Average margin of victory[4]	Races with incumbent victories	Average margin of victory for incumbents[4]	Unopposed incumbents	Unopposed races	Percent unopposed
Democratic	62	30.7 percent	50	36.2 percent	42	51	82.3 percent
Republican	118	26.5 percent	103	29.9 percent	86	97	82.2 percent
Total	180	28.0 percent	153	31.9 percent	128	148	82.2 percent

Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Georgia House of Representatives districts in 2016.

Important dates and deadlines[edit]

See also: Georgia elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Georgia in 2016.

Competitiveness[edit]

Candidates unopposed by a major party[edit]

In 149 of the 180 districts that were up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 51 Democrats and 98 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 31 (18.6%) of the 180 districts up for election.

Primary challenges[edit]

A total of 37 incumbents faced primary competition on May 24. Fifteen incumbents did not seek re-election in 2016, two seats were vacant, and another 126 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition. The following incumbents were defeated in the primary election:

• District 84: Rahn Mayo (D)
• District 125: Earnest Smith (D)

Primary runoff[edit]

The following incumbents were defeated in a primary runoff election:

• District 6: Tom Dickson (R)
• District 73: John Yates (R)
• District 77: Darryl Jordan (D)

Retired incumbents[edit]

Fifteen incumbent representatives did not run for re-election and 163 (90.5%) ran for re-election. In addition, two seats were vacant at the time of the election. A list of the incumbents that did not run for re-election—seven Democrats, seven Republicans, one Independent—may be found above.

Results from 2014[edit]

See also: 2014 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.

Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.

The following table details Georgia's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.

Historical context[edit]

See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

Campaign contributions[edit]

The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in Georgia in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.^[5]

State comparison[edit]

The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Georgia, at $48,078 per candidate, is ranked 22 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.^[5][6]

Qualifications[edit]

Paragraph 3 of Section 2 of Article 3 of the Georgia Constitution states: "At the time of their election, the members of the House of Representatives shall be citizens of the United States, shall be at least 21 years of age, shall have been citizens of this state for at least two years, and shall have been legal residents of the territory embraced within the district from which elected for at least one year."^[7]

See also[edit]

• Georgia House of Representatives
• Georgia State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2016

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• Georgia Secretary of State - Qualifying Candidate Information
• Georgia Secretary of State - Primary results
• Georgia Secretary of State - General election results

Footnotes[edit]