GA-HD149: Incumbent lawmaker (R) finds race against familiar opponent harder in redrawn Georgia district
State Rep. Ken Vance stood at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Columbia Street in Milledgeville on the first day of early voting this week, holding a sign emblazoned with his name.
He considers himself the incumbent, but the territory has shifted as he runs for reelection in the newly drawn House District 149. The demographic makeup of the new district — which covers parts of Baldwin and Jones counties and the edge of Macon-Bibb County — is a little less favorable to Republicans, he said, so he’s been out campaigning and knocking on doors.
“It was a lot easier the first time,” Vance said, adding he mostly relied on sending mailers to voters’ homes, posting signs throughout the community and using social media for his 2022 campaign. “But this time, you’ve got to have that personal touch.”
During the state’s redistricting process last year, a U.S. district judge said the initial maps lawmakers created illegally diluted voting opportunities among the Black population. Republicans redrew their lines, and the federal judge approved this version of the electoral map.
https://www.ajc.com/politics/redrawn-district-makes-for-tougher-race-georgia-legislator-says/UL4CC4T7YVH4JJPMAAGWZLAXC4/