Carter Elected to State Senate, Purcell Head to House

SAVANNAH, Ga.—A special election is sending Buddy Carter back to the state legislature, but in a different office.

Georgia Senate District 1 covers Bryan County and parts of Chatham and Liberty.

Republican Buddy Carter defeated Republican challenger Billy Hair. 

Carter will serve the unexpired part of Eric Johnson’s term. Johnson resigned to run for governor. 

WSAV caught up with Carter after his victory.

“This is truly humbling. I mean, when you think about this position for the past 31 years it’s been held by Tom Coleman and Eric Johnson, two political icons not only in this area but in the state of Georgia, and for a local guy to be able to follow in those footsteps is pretty special to me,“ said Carter.

In a second special election to fill Buddy Carter’s seat for Georgia House District 159, Republicans Ann Purcell and Jesse Tyler squared off, with Purcell winning 79 percent of the vote.