4 candidates qualify in East Cobb Ga. House special election

Georgia House District 45 map
For a larger view of the current District 45 map, click here.

Three Republicans and one Democrat have qualified for a special election in April for a Georgia House seat in East Cobb.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, the candidates competing in a “jungle” election in District 45 are the following:

  • Mitchell Kaye, a Republican;
  • Pamela Alayon, a Republican;
  • Dustin McCormick, a Democrat;
  • Darryl Wilson, a Republican.

Qualifying ended Friday afternoon. The special election was called for April 5 by Gov. Brian Kemp after former State Rep. Matt Dollar resigned on Feb. 1.

His successor will serve through the end of the year, when Dollar’s term expires.

In the May 24 primary, candidates for the newly drawn District 45 will be running in a separate election. Qualifying for primaries in all races takes place from March 7-11.

McCormick, a project management official at McKesson, had previously announced plans to run in the May primary in the new District 45.

Kaye is a former state representative who served District 45 for a decade, from 1993-2003, before Dollar began his tenure in the legislature.

Alayon is a hospitality recruiting franchisee who ran for chair of the Cobb Republican Party in 2021.

Wilson is a commercial airline pilot who was the chairman of the 6th Congressional District Republican Party and also ran for Cobb GOP chair.

In the special election, the four candidates will be competing together. If the top vote-getter does not receive a majority, a runoff between the top two finishers would take place on May 3

Dollar, who took a job with the state’s technical college system, said last fall he was not running for re-election after 20 years in office.

He and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, an East Cobb Republican who represents District 43, were drawn together during reapportionment.

Dollar was the main sponsor of the East Cobb Cityhood bill that was passed into law this week.

Voters in the proposed City of East Cobb will decide on whether to create a new city on May 24.

McCormick has stated his opposition to the proposed city of East Cobb.

The Cobb Elections office said there are 12 precincts in the county with voters who are eligible to vote in the special election:

  • Chestnut Ridge; Dickerson; Dodgen; Hightower; Murdock; Mt. Bethel 1; Mt. Bethel 3; Pope; Roswell 1; Roswell 2; Sewell Mill 1; Timber Ridge

Voters can check their eligibility for the special election by visiting the Secretary of State’s office My Voter Page.

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