Recount requested in Georgia State Senator race ahead of runoff

The special referendum to choose the next state senator in a suburban Atlanta district is going to a recount ahead of a Sept runoff Steve West the third-place finisher in the race to replace Republican former state Sen Brandon Beach requested the recount Wednesday a spokesman for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger s office declared Beach stepped down to serve as U S Treasurer and seven people stepped up to replace him including six Republicans and one Democrat in a reliably conservative district that includes parts of Cherokee and Fulton counties The sole Democrat Milton mom attorney and small business owner Debra Shigley placed first place with votes good for nearly of the vote but not good enough for an outright win Instead she ll duke it out in a runoff with the second-place finisher who appears to be Jason Dickerson a Republican outlay manager who earned just over of the vote with ballots cast But West a former Cherokee County Commissioner trailed Dickerson by just votes according to the initial count putting him within the margin required to call for a for a second tallying In a declaration West s campaign verified they are seeking a recount and are reviewing the results to ensure no voting irregularities occurred that may have impacted the outcome of the referendum State law doesn t give a timeline for finishing a recount but it s likely that the counties will want to complete the recount fleetly so they can finalize their runoff ballots Early voting is set to begin as soon as Sept in specific areas of the district Shigley s performance last month was notable because Beach a steadfast MAGA supporter consistently won re-election by large margins in the heavily Republican district Democrats hope her strong numbers show dissatisfaction with Republican leadership at the state and federal level and portend an anti-GOP mood going into next year s midterms Republicans say Shigley s margin was bolstered by the GOP vote being split six solutions and that their candidate will easily win the runoff In a announcement Dickerson expressed confidence that both the recount and the runoff will go his way We look forward to the recount confirming the certified consequence he declared We won t be distracted and will remain focused on defeating woke liberal Debra Shigley in the runoff that is already underway The post Recount requested in Georgia State Senator race ahead of runoff appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta