Several political offices are up for grabs on the state level across Georgia this election cycle. Newton County voters will have the opportunity to decide the Alcovy Judicial Circuit’s next District Attorney, as well as which candidates will represent them in the General Assembly.

District Attorney

District Attorney candidates include Randy McGinley, a Republican, and Destiny Bryant, a Democrat. 

McGinley is the interim district attorney for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit. He worked as a real estate appraiser before entering law school at Mercer University in 2008. He joined the Newton County District Attorney’s Office in 2011 and has since served in the Walton County office. 

McGinley was appointed chief assistant district attorney by former District Attorney Layla Zon in 2017 after Melanie Bell was elected Newton County Probate Court Judge.

Bryant worked as a senior assistant district attorney for Newton County and has spent the last eight years as a prosecutor. Bryant gained experience through representing the state before the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia. 

Formerly, Bryant served as the assistant district attorney for DeKalb County before transitioning back to Newton County, where she lives with her husband and 2-year-old son.

Bryant is a cum laude graduate of Xavier University in Ohio and a graduate of William & Mary Law School in Virginia.

State House of Representatives 

In the state House of Representatives, there are four seats Newton County will vote to fill Nov. 3. 

For the 109th District, Republican incumbent Dale Rutledge faces off against Democratic challenger Regina Lewis-Ward.

Rutledge is a business owner in McDonough.

Lewis-Ward is a political science adjunct instructor from McDonough.

Republican candidate Clint Crowe and Democratic candidate Ebony Carter square off to represent the 110th District.

Crowe is a real estate broker from McDonough.

Carter is an auxiliary operations coordinator from McDonough.

For District 112, incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Belton is running unopposed. Belton is a pilot from Buckhead in east Georgia. 

And in District 113, Sharon Henderson also runs unopposed as the Democratic candidate. Henderson works as a local pastor. She won the primary election in May against Democratic incumbent Rep. Pam Dickerson.

State Senate

For Newton County’s representation in the state Senate, incumbent Republican Brian Strickland seeks reelection against Democratic challenger Kelly Rose for District 17.

Strickland is an attorney from McDonough.

Rose is a post production producer from McDonough.

For the 43rd District in the state Senate, incumbent Democrat Tonya Anderson seeks to retain her position against Republican challenger Melanie Williams.

Anderson is a certified life coach and consultant from Lithonia.

Williams is a a multi-family property manager/realtor from Lithonia.

Public Service Commission

For the two seats on the public service commission, Republican incumbent Jason Shaw seeks reelection against two challengers — Democrat candidate Robert G. Bryant and Libertarian candidate Elizabeth Melton.

Shaw is a businessman and farmer from Lakeland.

Bryant is an educator from Savannah. Melton is a writer and native of Columbus.

Republican incumbent Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr., seeks reelection in District 4 against Democratic challenger Daniel Blackman.

McDonald is a businessman from Clarkesville.

Blackman is a business manager. In 2016, he was the first African-American to run for office in Forsyth County.