Democratic Congressman Sanford Bishop of Albany will return to Washington for a 17th term after defeating Wayne Johnson of Macon, a former Trump administration official, in the 2nd Congressional District in the southwest corner of the state.
The Associated Press called the race shortly before 10:30 p.m. on election night. With 29 of 30 precincts reported, Bishop was in the lead with just under 56% of the vote, according to unofficial election results.
The race was considered the most competitive congressional contest in the state, but Bishop’s seat was still seen as relatively safe. In 2022, he defeated his Republican challenger by 10 percentage points.
Bishop, whose committee assignments include the House committees on Appropriations and Agriculture, sought to portray himself as a moderate Democrat who has supported the district’s farmers and veterans.
With Bishop’s seat safe, the balance of power within the state’s Congressional delegation is expected to remain 9 to 5 in favor of Republicans.
In Georgia’s other closely-watched Congressional race, an advisor to former president Donald Trump, Brian Jack is poised to become west Georgia’s next congressman after declaring victory over Democrat Maura Keller, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and nuclear medicine technologist.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after 8 p.m. on election night. With 11 of 15 precincts counted, Jack was in the lead with about two-thirds of the vote, according to unofficial election results.
The race opened up when Republican Congressman Drew Ferguson announced he would not be seeking re-election.
Jack leaned heavily on the former president’s endorsement during the primary campaign, which he won in a runoff against former Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan after fending off competitors in a crowded primary field.
Jack’s win was the most likely outcome in the conservative west Georgia district where Ferguson won by more than 37 percentage points in 2022.
Jack has pledged to be a stalwart Trump ally in Congress and to prioritize his economic and domestic agenda, focusing especially on immigration.
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