Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal won Georgia’s GOP lieutenant governor runoff Tuesday, defeating former Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy and advancing to face Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin in November.
Dolezal and Kennedy were forced into the runoff after neither candidate won a majority in last month’s crowded Republican primary, Atlanta News First reported. Unofficial returns showed Dolezal with 367,895 votes, or 54.2%, to Kennedy’s 310,952 votes, or 45.8%, with an estimated 96.7% counted, according to Atlanta News First’s results page.
The Cumming Republican is seeking to replace Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who left the seat open by running for governor. Dolezal has represented Senate District 27 since 2019 and chairs the Senate Transportation Committee.
The result gives Republicans a nominee closely aligned with President Donald Trump’s wing of the party. The Associated Press reported Dolezal launched his campaign with pledges to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state agencies, target prosecutors he says are soft on crime and oppose transgender policies in schools. He led a Senate panel that investigated Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she brought Georgia’s 2020 election case against Trump and allies.
McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, won his party’s runoff against former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes. Democrats have not held Georgia’s lieutenant governor’s office since Mark Taylor, who left after his 2006 run for governor.
The office carries unusual power because Georgia’s lieutenant governor is both the state’s second-highest elected official and president of the Senate, presiding over debate and helping introduce legislation. But senators can decide how much influence the presiding officer has.
The fall matchup pits Dolezal’s conservative message against McLaurin’s argument that Democrats can use the office to challenge GOP control of the Capitol.
