Republican Bill Fincher wins runoff for Georgia House seat in Cherokee County

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at 4:45 PM

Republicans will maintain their hold over a Cherokee County state House seat after Bill Fincher, a former district attorney, defeated Democrat Scott Sanders during a runoff election Tuesday. Fincher, who now owns an RV park, received over 70% of the vote according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. He will replace Republican […]

Representative-elect Bill Fincher, a former district attorney who now owns an RV park, said he was “absolutely humbled” by the support of the voters in his district. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Republicans will maintain their hold over a Cherokee County state House seat after Bill Fincher, a former district attorney, defeated Democrat Scott Sanders during a runoff election Tuesday.

Fincher, who now owns an RV park, received over 70% of the vote according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. He will replace Republican state Rep. Mandi Ballinger of Canton, who died in October after a long battle with cancer.

In an interview, Fincher said he was “absolutely humbled” by the support of the voters in his district.

Among his top priorities for the 2026 legislative session are capping property taxes, reducing traffic around metro Atlanta and lowering the cost of insurance premiums.

“I’m going to try to get the insurance companies to recognize that we passed tort reform and signed it into law, and we’ve not seen any reduction in our insurance [costs],” Fincher said, referencing two Gov. Brian Kemp-backed bills intended to limit damages Georgia juries can award that passed during the 2025 legislative session. “It should have been something that was a quid pro quo, and we haven’t seen any reduction.”

The district, which includes Canton, part of northern Holly Springs and the surrounding unincorporated areas, heavily favors a Republican. But Democrats hoped to capitalize on growing momentum across the state, having recently flipped two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission as well as a House seat in an Athens-area district once thought to be safely under Republican control.

Sanders, a business executive, said making it to the runoff was an accomplishment for a Democrat in such a ruby red district.

“With every realistic and stretch political goal accomplished, I feel like this campaign was a massive success,” Sanders said in a statement. “And it was fantastic groundwork for the upcoming races in 2026. We made sure that every election will have to be contested and not a giveaway.”

The Legislature will reconvene for the start of the 2026 session on Monday, Jan. 12.

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