The votes are in and Mike Crane has been elected to fill the Dist. 28 state Senate seat vacated by Mitch Seabaugh. Crane received 60.4 percent of the vote in defeating Duke Blackburn in the Dec. 6 runoff election.
Voters from Coweta, Carroll, Heard and Troup counties had their say, giving Crane 5,381 votes compared to 3,521 from Blackburn. That translates into a 60.4 percent approval for Crane and 39.6 percent for Blackburn.
The two men were the top vote-getters in the Nov. 8 special election where nine candidates squared off to fill Seabaugh’s vacant seat. Blackburn in that election came away with 26.28 percent of the vote while Crane received 20.25 percent.
But things had changed by Dec. 6 when Crane bested Blackburn in Coweta, Carroll and Troup counties. Only Heard County voters gave Blackburn the nod with a majority of votes.
A county-by-county breakdown showed that Coweta County voters preferred Crane by a margin of 3,970 votes, or 62.8 percent, compared to 2,348 for Blackburn.
Voters in Carroll County gave Crane 59.6 percent of the tally, with Crane receiving 1,007 votes and Blackburn taking 680.
Troup County, too, gave Crane the nod. Of the 446 voters to cast a ballot, Crane took 54.2 percent of the 446 votes while Blackburn received 45.8 percent.
The voters in Heard County bucked the trend by favoring Blackburn with 64 percent of the 451 votes cast. Blackburn in Heard received 289 votes compared to 162 for Crane.
Crane after the results were in said he was honored to have been elected to the Georgia Senate.
“Tonight I am truly honored and humbled to have been chosen to serve the people of our district,” Crane said in a press release. “I’m happy to know that the ideas of conservative values and a common sense, business approach to government resonated with the voters.”
Crane in comments as the election results came in told supporters, “We have worked extremely hard over the last two months to get my message out. I have been blessed by the support of my family and with the help of so many volunteers along the way. I owe you all a tremendous thank you.”
Crane also addressed his upcoming responsibilities under the Gold Dome.
“Tonight is a beginning, not an end,” Crane said. “We’re all going to get some rest and get ready to go to work for the great people of the 28th district. We have many challenges facing our district and our state. I am going to hit the ground running to promote economic growth, and better, more efficient government. My thanks go out to all of the voters of the 28th District. I will not let you down.”
Crane is a general contractor from Newnan. The 48 year-old during the brief campaign identified his main issues included the economy, limited and more efficient government and simplifying the tax code.
