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Republican JaNice Van Ness captures Ga. Senate seat

Zhane Johnson, 14, watches as her mother, Cassandra, casts her ballot at Mary Mcleod Bethune Middle School in Decatur in July. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
Zhane Johnson, 14, watches as her mother, Cassandra, casts her ballot at Mary Mcleod Bethune Middle School in Decatur in July. BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
Dec 2, 2015

Republican JaNice Van Ness won a close Georgia Senate runoff election Tuesday night, taking control of a seat previously held by a Democrat, according to unofficial election results.

Van Ness, a former Rockdale commissioner, defeated former state Rep. Tonya Anderson, D-Lithonia.

Van Ness will represent about 172,000 residents in DeKalb, Rockdale and Newton counties.

Van Ness and Anderson were the two leading candidates among eight people on the ballot during a Nov. 3 special election to represent Senate District 43.

The Senate seat became vacant in July when Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Sen. Ronald Ramsey, D-Lithonia, to become a judge in DeKalb County State Court's Traffic Division.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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