The Winner

If you live in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) will keep representing you after winning a seventh term in the closest race of his House career. The Associated Press called the race for Allen at 10:57 p.m. Eastern time on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3. ​

Allen has 140,896 votes (52.1%) to 129,621 (47.9%) for Democrat Ceretta Smith, a margin of about 4 points, with an estimated 99% of votes counted. In 2024, Allen beat Democrat Liz Johnson by about 21 points, 60.3% to 39.7%.

The Race

Smith, an Army veteran and former Grovetown City Council member, held Allen to a narrow win despite a strong Democratic wave across Georgia, WRDW reported. She led a five-way Democratic primary on May 19 and then beat Traci George 55.8% to 44.2% in the June 16 runoff, while Allen beat Republican Tori Branum with 83.4% in his primary, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Republican, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

The district stretches from Augusta to Statesboro in eastern Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Allen, an Augusta businessman, has held the seat since 2015.

About 774,600 people live in the district, and residents are 52.8% white, 36.6% Black, 6.1% Hispanic and 1.9% Asian. The median household income is $61,800, and the median age is 37. Of adults, 24.6% hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is 6.4% and 17.5% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Allen’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he will serve in the House minority after Democrats won control of the chamber. That means he will give up his post as chairman of an Education and the Workforce subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pensions, since gavels go to the majority party.

Six days after the election, Allen joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers asking House Appropriations Committee leaders for more money for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, which helps landowners recover from Hurricane Helene and other disasters, his office said.

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