RINGGOLD, Ga. - The race for Georgia's open House District 3 seat just got extended an extra two months.
Seventy-two votes made all the difference.
Jeff Holcomb, a former Fort Oglethorpe police chief with an unsuccessful bid for Catoosa County sheriff under his belt, took most of the votes in the three-candidate race, with 2,008. But that was only good enough for 48.3 percent of the vote. He needed 50 percent, plus one vote, to avoid a runoff.
Instead, he will now face Dewayne Hill in a second election on July 26.
Hill, a former Catoosa County commissioner, finished with 1,606 votes Tuesday, good enough for 38.6 percent of the vote. Jeremy Jones finished in third with 544 votes.
Had Holcomb received 2,080 votes (72 more than what he garnered), he would be the county's newest state representative.
"You feel like you've been punched in the gut a little," he said in the parking lot of the Freedom Center in Ringgold on Tuesday night, minutes after realizing how close he came to sealing the house seat. "It does show that I was the strongest candidate. I am the most conservative candidate."
Hill did not return a call seeking comment. Jones, meanwhile, believes Holcomb and Hill defeated him because they had better name recognition.
"We have a situation where the first-place finisher had no website, was unable to articulate a firm position on any issue of importance and could not even commit to the voters of Catoosa County he'd even be in the state of Georgia during the upcoming session," Jones said in a statement to the Times Free Press. "Yes, our system of the person with the most signs has spoken, and I wish our new representative all of the best and luck in the future. We will all certainly need the latter."
Holcomb said he will position himself as the candidate fighting the establishment in his race against Hill. He pointed out that Hill was attending a party Tuesday night with State Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga. Mullis, the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee in Atlanta, also helped organize a fundraiser for Hill on April 26.
"The people are tired of the establishment running our county," Holcomb said. "I will represent everybody - not just a select few."
The runoff election will be the final step in what has been an odd race for the open house district seat.
In March, Incumbent Tom Weldon and Hill were the only candidates who qualified. Then, a week after the qualifying period ended, Weldon announced he was withdrawing from the race, leaving Hill with no opposition.
Some Catoosa County Republican Party leaders pushed to re-open qualifying. They said they believed Weldon and Hill had reached a backroom deal to let Hill walk in to the legislature without opposition, in part because Weldon and Hill gave the Times Free Press conflicting answers about Weldon's decision to step down from the race.
Weldon said Hill knew he was leaving the race. Hill said he had no idea.
The State GOP executive committee re-opened the qualifying period, and Holcomb and Jones put their names in the ring, along with Zach Hubbs. But because the state party failed to turn the paperwork in to the secretary of state on time, they had to redo the whole process for qualifying in April. This time, Hubbs decided not to run.
Hill is a cousin of Georgia House Speaker David Ralston.
New county chairman: In a tight race, local home builder Steve Henry unseated Keith Greene as the Catoosa County Commission Chairman on Tuesday night, 2,647 votes to 2,595 votes.
Greene has been in office since 2008. He did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday night. Henry, who followed the results at the Freedom Center, breathed a sigh of relief after walking out to the parking lot.
"Fifty-two gaddum votes?" he told his friends of his margin of victory. "Golly, that's tight. It's a good thing I don't have any nails, or this would have been a nail-biter."
Henry said he beat Greene for two key reasons: He has emphasized business growth in the community, and he has promised to try to lower property taxes. Concerning the former, Henry said he will form closer partnerships with the city governments in Ringgold and Fort Oglethorpe.
Concerning property taxes, he said he is not yet sure how the county can lower the rate. But he said he will review the financial books and look for a solution.
"We can always do better," he said.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or at tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.