Leesa Hagan wins special runoff election in Georgia House district


Image of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.

Leesa Hagan (R) won the special general runoff election for Georgia House of Representatives District 156 on July 13. She defeated Wally Sapp (R), earning 51.7% of the vote to Sapp’s 48.3%. 

Hagan and Sapp advanced from the general election held on June 15, where they defeated Democratic candidate Wright Gres. A runoff became necessary after no candidate earned more than 50% of the vote in the general election.

The special election was called after Greg Morris (R) resigned to join the State Transportation Board at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Morris served from 1999 to 2021.

Georgia has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. As of July 12, Republicans controlled the Georgia House of Representatives by a margin of 101 to 77 with two vacancies.

Additional reading:

Georgia House of Representatives

State legislative special elections, 2021