Lanny Thomas, a Republican and former mayor of Trion, and Jack Zibluk, a Democrat living on Lookout Mountain, have moved on to a runoff in the special election to replace former state Sen. Colton Moore, who resigned to run for Congress.
And in another special election, caused by the resignation of former Dalton council member Nicky Lama, Julie Locke won the seat with 52.7% of the vote out of the 3,431 votes cast Tuesday, according to the Whitfield County Board of Elections.
Locke is a lifelong resident of Whitfield County, according to her campaign posts on Facebook. She is committed to keeping taxes low, increasing public safety and increasing communication between the city government and constituents. She has already started working on a way to provide translations of City Hall meetings to Dalton’s multiethnic population, she said.
“This was just a natural extension of what I’ve already been doing in the community,” Locke said by phone.
She was previously involved in the public works department, developing parks such as the one underway at the Temple Beth-El site.
In the state Senate District 53 race, Lanny won 38.7% of the vote, followed by Zibluk’s 26.99% out of 30,475 votes cast, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
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Thomas served as mayor for two terms until 2025, after being a teacher for various grade levels from K-12 in addition to being the president of the District 1 Georgia Municipal Association, he said by phone in December.
“Been working very hard speaking with all these municipalities in the district,” Thomas said by phone.
His biggest focus has been to establish clear lines of communication with local governments and their constituents to recognize the needs of small towns in Northwest Georgia. Thomas plans to work on eliminating the state income tax and creating more support for those who struggle with mental illness if elected, Thomas said.
Zibluk is a media history professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga who previously ran for state House in 2024 and lost to Mike Cameron, gaining 19.7% of the vote.
(READ MORE: The small, but growing Democratic movement in Northwest Georgia)
He said he was proud he was able to make the runoff on a shoestring budget, based on the power of the people. Zibluk believes his message has resonated with voters. He said he is here to represent the district, not any other individuals or organizations. If elected, he would focus on improving infrastructure, such as roads, and assisting those with mental illness, but he said his priorities and answers to issues are always evolving as he speaks to more voters.
“The bottom line is to try to do the best job for the regular folks because, heck, I’m them,” Zibluk said by phone.
State Senate District 53 includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties in Northwest Georgia, as well as the northern section of Floyd County. Moore resigned the seat when he sought Greene’s seat in Congress, but he came in third place in Tuesday’s special election and will not proceed to the runoff. Republican Clayton Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris will face off April 7.
Contact Northwest Georgia reporter Ignacio Perez at iperez@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6710.