GA-SD21: Georgia Democrat gains traction in special election for state Senate seat in deeply GOP district

CANTON, GA. — CANTON, Ga. (AP) — A lone Democrat competing for a state senate seat in a deeply Republican Atlanta suburb snagged nearly 40% of votes in a special primary election last month, amplifying her party's optimism that discontent with President Donald Trump could spur future wins.

Yet it's unclear whether Democrat Debra Shigley's success foreshadows a coming Democratic wave like her supporters hope. Democrats have performed well in low-turnout special elections in recent years, and parties perform better locally when they aren't in control of the executive branch, Georgia Republican strategist Brian Robinson said.

“To read the tea leaves too much is a fool’s errand, because it’s such a low turnout,” Robinson said. “All it shows is that Democrats are more angry than Republicans are, and fear and anger are the most important motivators in voter turnout.”

Data from The Downballot tracking 39 special elections nationwide since Trump entered office shows that on average, Democrats performed 15.7 percentage points better than former Vice President Kamala Harris did as a presidential candidate in 2024. Republicans mostly kept their seats, but Democrats flipped a Pennsylvania state senate seat in March and two Iowa state Senate seats in January and August.


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