Georgia 2016 Election Results

Georgia held its general election on November 8, 2016, deciding 236 legislative seats and the office of Public Service Commissioner District 2. No chamber changed party control.

Highlights

• Voters soundly defeated Gov. Nathan Deal's Amendment 1 by about 20 points. Its Opportunity School District, which would have let a superintendent answering only to the governor take over failing schools, was meant to be a signature piece of education policy for Deal. A coalition of teachers' unions, school boards, and the state PTA opposed it as an attempt to wrest away local control and tax dollars.
• In the Senate, former Rep. Tonya Anderson (D) unseated Sen. JaNice Van Ness (R) by about 41 points in Senate District 43. The rematch reversed Van Ness's narrow win in a 2015 special election for a seat historically held by Democrats, and left the Senate at 38-18, with no seat to spare above a Republican two-thirds majority.
• House seats changed hands in both directions, leaving the chamber at 118-62:
  • Sam Park (D) upset three-term Rep. Valerie Clark (R) by about 460 votes in House District 101, becoming the first openly gay man elected to the legislature.
  • Bill McGowan (D) unseated Mike Cheokas (R) by 256 votes in House District 138.
  • Meagan Hanson (R) beat Rep. Taylor Bennett (D) by 286 votes in House District 80, regaining the seat for Republicans a year after Bennett won it in a special election.
  • Rick Williams (R) beat Floyd Griffin (D) by about 13 points for the open House District 145. The seat had belonged to retiring Rep. Rusty Kidd (I), the only independent ever elected to the legislature, and Williams became the first Republican elected to the House from Milledgeville and Baldwin County.
• Outside the seats that flipped, the closest race was House District 105, where Joyce Chandler (R) held on by 222 votes over Donna McLeod (D). Of the 236 legislative races, 191 had only one candidate on the ballot. Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols (R) won re-election by about 33 points over a Libertarian, with no Democrat on the ballot.
• The other 3 amendments passed easily: Amendment 2 added penalties for sex crimes to fund services for sexually exploited children, Amendment 3 replaced the Judicial Qualifications Commission, and Amendment 4 earmarked revenue from fireworks taxes.

Legislature

• House (180 seats): 61 D, 118 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 62 D, 118 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
• Senate (56 seats): 17 D, 39 R before the election, 18 D, 38 R after; control stayed with Republicans.

Statewide races

Legislative races

Ballot measures