ATLANTA – Brian Jack, a former White House aide to Donald Trump, was well on his way Tuesday night to capturing the Republican nomination to seek Georgia’s only vacant congressional seat.
With 949 of 1,643 precincts reporting as of 9 p.m., Jack led former state Sen. Mike Dugan in west-central Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District with 66.1% of the vote to Dugan’s 33.9%, according to unofficial results.
Jack will face Democrat Maura Keller in November in the 3rd District, which stretches from Paulding and Polk counties south to Columbus. U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point, decided not to seek a fourth term in Congress.
Trump’s endorsement gave Jack a decided advantage over Dugan, who served two terms as the Georgia Senate’s majority leader before leaving the General Assembly earlier this year to mount the congressional bid.
Jack played up his close ties with the Trump administration during the campaign, including his role in securing America’s southern border against illegal immigrants.
Jack was the top vote-getter last month in a Republican primary race that featured five candidates. However, he failed to win a majority of the total votes, forcing Tuesday’s runoff against Dugan.
In other congressional runoffs, Wayne Johnson defeated Chuck Hand to capture the Republican nomination in Southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District. Johnson will oppose veteran incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, in November.
In the 14th Congressional District in Northwest Georgia, Shawn Harris won a Democratic runoff over Clarence Blalock. Harris will take on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, on Nov. 5.