A closely contested Georgia legislative race has taken an unexpected turn, delivering a significant boost to Republicans after hundreds of previously unreported votes were added to the official county tally.
Republican state Rep. Gerald Greene has reclaimed the lead over Democratic challenger Harry James in Georgia House District 154 after election officials identified a problem involving voting-system records in Seminole County. The corrected results reversed what initially appeared to be a narrow Democratic victory on Election Night.
Greene now leads James by 253 votes, receiving 10,194 votes, or 50.63 percent, compared with James’ 9,941 votes, representing 49.37 percent. The updated figures emerged as Seminole County completed its certification process on Monday.
The development is particularly significant because James had initially appeared to defeat the longtime Republican lawmaker by just 58 votes. That apparent victory was thrown into question after Georgia election officials noticed an unexplained discrepancy between the number of voters who checked in at polling locations and the number of ballots included in the reported results.
