Dems pick up three seats in Georgia state legislature

by Rebecca Savransky - 11/08/17 7:21 AM ET

Democrats picked up three legislative seats on Tuesday in special elections in Georgia.

Deborah Gonzales won a race to represent the Athens area in the state House of Representatives, taking a seat previously held by a Republican, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Jonathan Wallace won in another race in the Athens area to replace Republican Chuck Williams in the House.

The Democrats won the House seats in deep-red districts. The seats, held previously by Republicans, were uncontested in the 2016 elections.

Gonzales won with 53 percent of the vote and Wallace with 56 percent.

{mosads}In the Atlanta area, Democrats Jaha Howard and Jen Jordan came in at the top of their race and will face each other in a December run-off election to replace Republican state Sen. Hunter Hill.

Democrats roared back on Tuesday after suffering many defeats in the past year.

They claimed big victories in races up and down the ballot and across the country.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) won the Virginia governorship by a wider-than-expected margin. Democrat Justin Fairfax won the lieutenant governor’s office, becoming only the second African-American to win a statewide post in Virginia since Reconstruction, while Attorney General Mark Herring (D) won reelection.

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