Gary Richardson Wins All-Republican Runoff for Georgia State House District 125
The special election was called after State Representative Barry Fleming (R) became a Superior Court Judge.
The runoff occurred today to fill a vacancy in the Georgia House of Representatives. This is the first special election in 2024 for the state’s lower legislative chamber. The runoff was called after none of the five candidates in the February special election achieved a 50%+1 majority.
The special election for Georgia State House District 125 was called after Governor Brian Kemp appointed State Representative Barry Fleming, a Republican, to become a Superior Court Judge for the Columbia Judicial District. Fleming represented this district from January 2003 to January 2009 and again from January 2013 to January 2024.
Gary Richardson has been declared the winner in the all-Republican runoff. The race was called in his favor as he’s currently leading with 60.2% against CJ Pearson with 39.8%. 6,499 votes have been counted.
Richardson previously represented District 3 on the Columbia County Commission for eight years. He retired from his seat in order to pursue the legislative position.
Since January 2023, Pearson has served as Gen Z National Co-Chair of the Youth Advisory Council for the Republican National Committee.
Richardson led Pearson on the February 13 ballot by a 37.5-30.8 margin, with Republican Jim Steed at 17.6%, Democrat Kay Turner at 13.6%, and Libertarian John Turpish at 0.6%.
Georgia State House District 115 takes in parts of Columbia and McDuffie Counties - residing in the western suburbs of Augusta, Georgia.
Once Richardson is sworn in, the Georgia House of Representatives will feature 101 Republicans and 78 Democrats. The chamber has an additional vacancy which will be filled by a special election next month. All 180 seats will be up for regular two-year terms in November 2024.