The battle for House District 117 is among local races being decided Election Day Tuesday.
The seat currently held by Representative Deborah Gonzalez who won a special election last year. But challenger Houston Gaines says he likes his chances.
“I feel really good about our campaign, we worked extremely hard. Folks are energized, we’re feeling the energy,” according to Gaines. “We’ve got a very important governor’s race that is at the top of the ticket, but people also realize and recognize that this state house race and other local and statewide races are so important."
Gaines, who has raised substantially more money than Gonzalez, says he’s grateful for his support.
“Well, to be honest, I’m humbled by it and I’m honored by the support that our campaign has, but it’s a team effort.”
The Republican challenger says if elected, he will represent the entire community.
“ I will represent everybody, even people that didn’t vote for me, and people who never will vote for me. "
There are several issues he's focusing on.
"I hope that people can see that I’m someone you can trust to lead on the issues that we care about, " gaines aaid. "Whether that’s economic development, lowering our state income tax below 5 percent, whether that’s ensuring that we have the best possible schools and quality education, ensuring that we increase the amount of technical training in our high schools, promote our technical colleges. Certainly the University of Georgia, this district is home to the University of Georgia, and keeping our community safe, I’m a proud supporter of law enforcement.”
The polls are open from 7 an until 7 pm Tuesday.
