In the special election for the Georgia State House District 7 race Sheree Ralston won Gilmer County and the election as a whole.
She did not avoid a runoff, however, garnering only 45 percent of the vote for the district.
In Gilmer County, Ralston received 1,909 votes; Johnny Chastain received 904; Justin Heitman garnered 401; Brian Pritchard got 277; and Richie Stone received 143.
In Gilmer County, Ralston broke the 50 percent mark.
For the entire contest, the vote totals were Ralston 3,582; Chastain 3,125; Heitman 590; Pritchard 490; and Stone 169, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
A total of 7,971 votes were cast for a 17.52 percent turnout in the special election.
The 7th District includes all of Gilmer and Fannin counties and a portion of Dawson County.
The seat was left open by the death of David Ralston who passed away Nov. 16, at the age of 68, from an “extended illness,” according to his longtime spokesman Kaleb McMichen.
Sheree Ralston is David Ralston’s widow and executive director of the Fannin County Development Authority.
Her opponent, Chastain, is from Blue Ridge and has been with United Community Bank for 30 years and has been in banking for 37.
Early voting begins Monday, Jan. 23, for the runoff and runs through Friday, Jan. 27, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Gilmer County Courthouse.
The special election runoff will be held Tuesday, Jan. 31.