Jason RidleyA farmer defeated a 12-year veteran to join the Georgia House of Representatives on Tuesday night.
Jason Ridley beat Tom Dickson for the 6th District seat with about 54 percent of 3,400 votes. Dickson, a retired educator representing Whitfield and Murray counties, was the chairman of the House Appropriations Education subcommittee. He had been in office since 2005.
Dickson received about $185,000 during this election cycle, campaign contribution reports show. By comparison, Ridley received about $1,800, though his disclosures are one month behind Dickson’s on the Campaign Finance Commission website.
Ridley, 39, believes he won because of a more conservative stance on gun rights, Georgia’s “religious freedom” bill and education reform.
“People needed someone to stand up for them and knock the establishment,” Ridley said Wednesday. “That’s what being a representative is about. That’s the reason I ran. That’s the reason people elected me.”