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Barton wins runoff election for North Georgia House seat

Matt Barton, left, a former Calhoun councilman, won a runoff election for the Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. He’s pictured with Gov. Brian Kemp. Credit: electmattbarton.com
Matt Barton, left, a former Calhoun councilman, won a runoff election for the Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. He’s pictured with Gov. Brian Kemp. Credit: electmattbarton.com
By
Feb 6, 2019

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.

About the Author

Mark Niesse covers 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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