Editor's Note: This story was updated on Wednesday afternoon to include a statement that Anthony Henderson shared with The Covington News.

COVINGTON, Ga. — Anthony Henderson has secured a third term on the Covington City Council, which will make him the longest-tenured member on the council by next year.

Scoring more votes than any other single candidate in the 2025 Covington Municipal Election, Henderson overcame challenger Scotty Scoggins in a demanding 495-229 victory.

The bulk of Henderson’s votes came in advance voting, where he held a 283-142 lead over Scoggins. On Election Day, Henderson garnered an additional 158 votes to Scoggins’ 84, per the unofficial and incomplete results from the Newton County Elections Office.*

On Wednesday, Henderson shared the following statement with The Covington News:

"I’m truly thankful for the support I’ve received from the people of the West Ward. Since the day I entered office, it’s always been about the people — and that hasn’t changed.

My goal remains the same: to make sure the people of Covington get what they deserve — relief. It’s time for our residents to benefit, not just corporations.

The priorities are clear, and now it’s my job to deliver on them. Together, we’ll keep moving Covington forward."

Scoggins also weighed in on social media following his defeat. 

"Well... we tried, but came up short," Scoggins said. "I met a lot of great people and learned a ton more about Covington and the people here. Thank you for the encouragement, kind words, support, and general all around goodness."

Since he assumed the seat in 2017 at just 21 years old, Henderson has remained a vocal representative of the West Ward. With his victory, he will unseat current Post 1, East Ward council member Susie Keck as the longest-tenured council member, as Keck opted not to seek reelection.

In his CovNews Election Questionnaire, Henderson shared areas he wished to continue working in, including a focus on senior citizens and efforts to ease the property taxes burden and reassess utility rates.

“It’s not fair for customers to pay the same disconnection fees that once required manual labor when service is now automated,” Henderson wrote. “I’ll work to eliminate unnecessary increases and ensure fairness across the board.”

*All election results remain ‘unofficial and incomplete’ until they are certified, as is procedure.