Voters across the 125th district have an opportunity to elect their state representative now in the Feb. 13 election.
Early voting started Monday. Candidates for the position will spar and state their views at a 7 p.m. Tuesday forum at Grovetown High School.
The Feb. 13 special election, triggered by the resignation of Rep. Barry Fleming to serve as a Columbia County Superior Court judge, has attracted five candidates.
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Three of the candidates are avowed Republicans, one is a Libertarian and one is a Democrat.
They include Gary Richardson, a Republican who served on the Columbia County Planning Commission prior to being elected to District 3 on the county commission in 2015.
Richardson is a small-business owner who was unopposed for reelection in 2016 and 2020. He recently resigned his commission seat to run for state representative.
Joining the contest more recently was Gen. Z social media activist C.J. Pearson. A former candidate for mayor of Tuscaloosa, Ala, Pearson attended Columbia County schools.
He’s back at home with his grandparents in Grovetown to run for state representative.
Also running is John Turpish, a Libertarian who ran for Public Service Commission District 5 in 2018. The Grovetown software developer lost to Tricia Pridemore in the statewide race, but garnered more than 97,000 votes.
Grovetown farmer Jim Steed registered his campaign Jan. 14. Steed, who is running as a Republican, operates a corn maze in Grovetown.
The only Democrat in the contest is Grovetown cosmetologist Kay Turner.
Turner, the first Democrat to run for the state post in 12 years, said she’ll bring a “positive turn” to the district.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
