GOP retains suburban Atlanta senate seat in costly special election
Republican Jason Dickerson handily won a runoff against Democrat Debra Shigley on Tuesday night in the state Senate District 21 special election to replace State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), who is now the US Treasurer.
Dickerson and Shigley raised over one million dollars combined for the special election over the ostensibly safe GOP seat, which Beach won with 70.3% of the vote in 2024. The race drew national attention after Shigley finished a strong first in the Aug. 26 special election with against a field of six Republican candidates, including Dickerson.
Dickerson won with a decisive 61.5% of the vote (19,061 votes), but his Democratic challenger, Shigley, made inroads with voters. As a result, Dickerson underperformed Beach’s 70.3% margin in 2024 by almost nine percentage points.
To secure that victory Dickerson’s campaign spent over $751,000 for his campaign – $750,000 in loans he made to himself, according to Georgia campaign finance data. Shigley meanwhile, raised nearly $252,000, mostly in small donations from both voters in the district and out of state.
https://atlantaciviccircle.org/2025/09/24/dickerson-shigley-georgia-election-senate-million/