Hufstetler wins state Senate race across 4 counties

The Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee starts a new term in January.

State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, easily beat back a challenge from Democratic challenger Evan Ross to win a fourth twoyear term.

The district covers all of Floyd and parts of Bartow, Chattooga and Gordon counties.

“I love being down there and I feel I’ve made a difference,” Hufstetler said Tuesday night. “It’s a great honor to serve this district.”

Hufstetler — who chairs the Senate Finance Committee — won overall, with 42,379 votes to Ross’ 13,539. He also was the clear favorite in each of the four counties.

The tally was 21,855 to 7,877 in Floyd County, with 18 write-in votes.

Hufstetler was the highest vote-getter out of all the contested races on the county’s ballot, even topping the 21,490 votes for Republican governor candidate Brian Kemp.

Bartow voters chose him 11,953 to 3,338; it was 564 to 162 in Chattooga; and in Gordon he won 8,007 to 2,162.

“I feel like the last six years have been a campaign, because I’ve been working for our district,” said Hufstetler, who was planning to work instead of celebrating today.

“We’ve cut taxes, employment is good, the fund balance is good, we’re fully funding education,” he continued. “We still have a lot of work to do on healthcare, but I’m ready.”

Ross, a logistics and sales manager for two local farms, said he learned a lot from his inaugural campaign and that he — and the Democratic Party — would be back.

“We’re not done. There’s no way I’m done. We’re just getting started,” he said with a smile.

He said it was a humbling experience to meet people in the district, listen to their concerns and have so many commit to helping him in the race.

“I’m glad I could step up and represent my party,” Ross said. “If you don’t have a candidate, you’re not going to win.”

Hufstetler, an anesthetist at Redmond Regional Medical Center, started out in politics on the Floyd County Commission. He served from 1999 to 2007, during which the board built back the county’s fund balance while cutting the millage rate in six out of the eight years.

He was called back to run for the state Senate seat in 2012.

“I was asked to come back in after the guy who was running dropped out,” Hufstetler said. “I don’t think of myself as a career politician but I do enjoy the work.”

He won his first election by beating two other candidates outright in the Republican primary, which put him alone on the general election ballot. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2016 without opposition.

Earlier this year, he and his House counterpart Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, worked with Gov. Nathan Deal to pass the first income tax cut in state history. Hufstetler had stalled a previous version of the bill in his committee because he contended it favored higher earners over the middle class.