Georgia Election 2019: Republican Matt Barton wins state House runoff

A former city councilman and school board member, Republican Matt Barton, won a runoff election Tuesday to fill the North Georgia state House seat held by Republican state Rep. John Meadows, who died in November.

Barton, the owner of a courier business, defeated Republican Jesse Vaughn, an attorney, to represent the Calhoun-based district that covers parts of Gordon and Murray counties, according to unofficial results.

Barton overcame Vaughn on Tuesday despite coming in second in last month's six-way special election.

Barton, whose wife is a teacher, supports educators, Second Amendment rights and religious liberty, according to his campaign website.

Meadows was the chairman of the powerful Rules Committee and represented House District 5 for 14 years. He died at age 74.

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