A version of this story originally appeared in the Tuesday Jolt.
RALSTON RACE. It’s Election Day in House District 7, where five candidates are running to succeed the late House Speaker David Ralston in the Blue Ridge-based district.
Among the candidates are Sheree Ralston, Speaker Ralston’s widow and executive director of the Fannin County Development Authority; Brian Pritchard, the online media host from Cherry Log; and Johnny Chastain, an executive with United Community Bank in Blue Ridge.
RESULTS
Results will be posted after the polls close, with updates until the counting ends
The compressed timeline for the race has meant that candidates have had just weeks to stand up their campaigns and get in front of voters, including over the holidays.
But that was still enough time for the contest to take a nasty turn when Lisa Pritchard, Brian Pritchard’s wife, posted a lengthy attack against Sheree Ralston to Facebook, calling her a “shameless hussy” and accusing her of spreading lies. Ralston did not respond to the personal attack, which was shared to Brian Pritchard’s official campaign page.
If no candidate wins 50% of the vote-plus-one today, the race will go to a runoff between the top two finishers. The winner will serve Ralston’s full term representing the north Georgia district in the 2023 and 2024 session of the General Assembly.
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