Republican Steven McNeel won a runoff for a Macon-area Georgia Senate seat Tuesday, holding off Democrat LeMario Brown, who had sought to flip the district.
Democrats had hoped to gain ground in the Republican-dominated Senate after victories in statewide Public Service Commission elections last November and in a special election for an Athens-area state House seat in December.
But most voters in the conservative-leaning district decided to keep it under Republican control, according to unofficial results. McNeel received nearly 60% of the vote.
McNeel, an attorney who manages a timber farm, will join the state Senate midway through this year’s legislative session, replacing former Sen. John F. Kennedy, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.
McNeel will represent Senate District 18, which includes Crawford, Monroe, Peach and Upson counties along with parts of Bibb and Houston counties.
Brown, a former Fort Valley councilman and small business owner, had emerged as the leader in the initial election last month, but a runoff was required because none of the candidates received a majority. Brown was the only Democrat in the race, and the other five candidates split the Republican vote.
With McNeel’s victory, Republicans will hold a 32-23 majority in the Senate.
One Senate seat is vacant after former state Sen. Colton Moore resigned to run for the congressional seat previously held by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green. The special election for Green’s former northwest Georgia seat is scheduled for March 10.