Georgia runoff to decide state senator in deep-red district after Democrat gains
Democrat Debra Shigley and Republican Jason Dickerson face off in Senate District 21, north of Atlanta, after August's 40% showing by Shigley
A runoff to decide a Georgia state Senate seat in a deeply conservative district north of Atlanta will take place Tuesday after Democrat Debra Shigley captured 40% in August's special election, with Republican Jason Dickerson finishing a distant second.
Senate District 21 was left vacant when former Republican state Sen Brandon Beach was drafted by President Trump to serve as state treasurer. Beach won more than 70% of the vote in 2024. Dickerson, an investment company president who self-funds his campaign, finished second in August with 17.4% and has the backing of Republican leaders who see him as the stronger conservative candidate.
Shigley, a lawyer and small-business owner who lives on a farm with her husband and five children, has argued for reducing the cost of living for working families. She previously ran in 2024 against House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones and lost.
National attention has centered on Democrats hoping to flip seats amid frustration with Republican policies under former President Donald Trump. DNC Chair Ken Martin traveled to Georgia to campaign with Shigley on Saturday in Alpharetta, a suburb about 26 miles north of Atlanta.
Republican strategists have said turnout in August was boosted by a sense that the national political climate could shift, and that energy could carry into Tuesday's runoff. Brian Robinson, a Georgia Republican political strategist, noted that with only one Republican opponent instead of six, Shigley faces a more traditional runoff dynamic, and cautioned it remained unlikely she would win in a deeply red district.
Democrats point to a broader pattern in 40 special elections nationwide tracked by The Downballot, which shows an average of about 15 percentage points better performance for Democrats than what former Vice President Kamala Harris posted in 2024. Still, Republicans have largely held seats, with notable flips in Pennsylvania and Iowa earlier in the year.
Charles Bullock III, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, said it remains unclear whether Shigley's contest foreshadows broader gains in 2026 and that the outcome will hinge on whether Democrats flip more seats and how voters view Trump in the year ahead.
Regardless of Tuesday's result, supporters say the campaign has produced a groundswell of volunteers and momentum that organizers hope will carry into 2026, when races for governor, the U.S. Senate and other offices will draw national attention.