Democrats are celebrating their major victory in a special election that turned a traditionally red House district blue.
Georgia House of Representatives District 121 covers most of Oconee and part of Clark County.
In 2024, it elected Republican Marcus Wiedower with 61% of the vote and President Donald Trump with 56% of the vote in the same election.
However, in Tuesday’s special election to fill Wiedower’s vacated seat, Democrat Eric Gisler narrowly defeated Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest, receiving 121 votes.
Dr. Charles Block, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Georgia, tells us Channel 2’s Richard Elliott Democrats appear motivated.
“This is an end-of-year election. So the turnout is much lower, but it at least tells us that Democrats are more motivated to vote than Republicans are,” Bloch said.
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Georgia Democrats poured a lot of money into the 121 campaign — $50,000 and tons of volunteer hours.
“Our momentum will only continue to grow, out-organizing and out-strategizing Republicans to deliver more wins for the people of Georgia in 2026,” said Charlie Bailey, chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party.
But Republicans aren’t ready to acknowledge the idea.
“Democrats took advantage of low-turnout special elections. That’s the story of HD 121. But one race doesn’t define momentum in Georgia,” said Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.
Dr. Nathan Price, a political science professor at the University of North Georgia, agreed, but added that Democrats are testing strategies that appear to be working for them and could play a role in next year’s important midterm elections.
“Campaigning is an evolving activity. So as times change, circumstances change, technology changes, they’re honing the message and trying to understand what’s going to work in 2026,” Price said.
The House District 23 runoffs are set to take place next month in typically red areas of Cherokee County. The race is between Republicans and Democrats.
