A Democrat received the most votes in a special election for an open Middle Georgia state Senate seat on Tuesday but failed to avoid a runoff as five other candidates split the Republican vote.

LeMario Brown, a Democrat and former Fort Valley councilman, advanced to the runoff against Steven McNeel, a Republican and trial attorney, according to unofficial results.

They’re running to replace former state Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Republican who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.
The Feb. 17 runoff, required in Georgia because no candidate won a majority of votes, will fill one of four vacant seats in the General Assembly, which began its annual legislative session last week.

Brown was the only Democrat in the race for Senate District 18, which includes Crawford, Monroe, Peach and Upson counties along with parts of Bibb and Houston counties. He gained 37% of the vote while the remaining 63% was divided among the five Republican competitors.

“LeMario’s performance is yet another testament to the momentum that Democrats are building as working Georgians across the state grow tired of 22 years of failed Republican leadership,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey.

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon said Democrats failed to make significant gains in the Republican-leaning district.

“Democrats threw everything they had at this race — pouring in money from California and New York and even calling in national figures like Sen. Mark Kelly — but in the end, they still couldn’t close the deal,” McKoon said. “Republicans stepped up, overcame the noise, and now we’re heading into the runoff ready for the final round.”

Special elections will also be held to fill other vacant seats in the General Assembly.

Former state Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, resigned days before she was charged with fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, former state Rep. Lynn Heffner, D-Augusta, moved out of her district after her home was damaged by Hurricane Helene, and former Republican Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, stepped down last week to run for Congress.

Special elections for the state House seats are scheduled for March 10. An election date for the state Senate seat hasn’t yet been set.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.