Howard wins Georgia Senate special election runoff to represent Atlanta district

Democrat Jaha Howard, a dentist and former Cobb County School Board member, is headed to the state Capitol after narrowly defeating fellow Democrat and former state Rep. Roger Bruce during a special election runoff. He will represent a metro Atlanta district that includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. Howard and Bruce beat out four […]

Democrat Jaha Howard, a dentist and former Cobb County School Board member, won a special election runoff Tuesday by roughly 235 votes, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Democrat Jaha Howard, a dentist and former Cobb County School Board member, is headed to the state Capitol after narrowly defeating fellow Democrat and former state Rep. Roger Bruce during a special election runoff. He will represent a metro Atlanta district that includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties.

Howard and Bruce beat out four other candidates during a six-way special election earlier this month, but neither managed to secure the majority needed to win the election outright. Howard will replace former state Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat who resigned from the state Senate in September to focus on his campaign for governor.

Ahead of the special election, much of the Democratic establishment coalesced behind Bruce, who was first sworn in as a state representative in 2003 and served for 22 years, until his retirement in 2024. But Howard, who has also been a candidate for state school superintendent and ran for a seat on the Cobb County commission earlier this year, received the most votes during the special election and maintained his lead in the runoff. He won Tuesday by roughly 235 votes, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office.

Howard previously ran for state Senate in 2017, but came under fire after sexist and homophobic comments he posted on Facebook between 2011 and 2014 were unearthed. He later apologized for the comments, and eventually lost that race to attorney Jen Jordan. 

During this year’s campaign, he said, he has worked to gain voters’ trust in his commitment to LGBTQ and women’s rights.

“I’m talking to constituents all the time, and they believe me when I say that we’re going to fight for our freedoms, including our freedom to choose, our freedom to marry who we choose, and freedom to vote,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday night.

He also received an endorsement from state Sen. RaShaun Kemp, one of the two openly gay lawmakers in the chamber.

As he prepares to take office, Howard said, “I’m doing my best to love God and love people for real, and not in the way that we see in the public square.” 

“I look forward to serving with integrity and fighting for justice,” he said.

Howard will be up for reelection next year alongside all Georgia lawmakers.