Wayne Johnson has won the Republican primary runoff over Chuck Hand in the race to represent Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District and will now look to unseat an incumbent Democrat in the November general election.
The Associated Press called the race.
Johnson and Hand were the top two vote-getters in Georgia’s May 21 primary election, but advanced to the runoff when neither reached the 50% threshold required by state election law.
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Johnson touted his service in former President Trump’s administration throughout the campaign, where he served as CEO of the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid.
Hand, a construction superintendent from rural Butler County who was previously convicted for his participation in the Jan. 6 protests, ran on his working class credentials, focusing his messaging heavily on the economy. He made waves earlier this month when he walked out of a televised debate with Johnson after accusing him of not residing in the district and orchestrating attacks on his wife.
Johnson will now face Democrat Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr., who has represented the district since 1993.
Elections analysts rate the race as either “solid” or “safe” Democrat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
