Five candidates have filed to run in the Nov. 2 special election for District 165 in the Georgia House of Representatives. Edna Jackson (D), Sabrina Kent (D), Antwan Lang (D), Clinton Young (D), and Clinton Cowart (L) filed before the Sept. 10 filing deadline. The winner of the special election will serve until January 2023.
The seat became vacant on Aug. 14 after Edward Stephens (D) passed away. He had served in the state House since 2009. He defeated Young in the Democratic primary in 2020 with 63% of the vote, and he was unopposed in the general election that year.
Heading into the special election, Republicans have a 103-76 majority in the Georgia state House with one vacancy. 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 September 2021, 60 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 20 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Georgia held 67 state legislative special elections from 2010 to 2020.
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