Gisler celebrates victory in Georgia statehouse election

The following was released by Eric Grisler for Georgia

Eric Gisler flipped Georgia State House District 121 to the Democratic Party on Tuesday by a 197 vote margin.

The final tally of 50.9 percent for Gisler against 49.2 percent for his Republican opponent Mack “Dutch” Guest IV was reported by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office shortly after 9 p.m.

“We did it!,” Gisler told supporters after the GA Secretary of State’s office had declared him the winner.  “We won because we have the right goals and the right plan, and voters know that I will go to the Georgia House of Representatives and try to represent the needs and interests of all of the people of District 121, not just those in one county or one political party.“

Georgia State House District 121 is a district that was heavily gerrymandered by the Republican-controlled State Legislature and includes most of Oconee County and a small portion of the east part of Athens-Clarke County. In 2024, Republican Marcus Wiedower beat Gisler by a 22 point margin.

In addition to winning the seat, the Democratic candidate showed strong gains in both counties in the district. In Oconee County, the more heavily Republican part of the District only 26 percent of Oconee voters voted for Gisler in 2024, while on Tuesday, he won 36 percent of the Oconee vote.

In Clarke County, where he had 65 percent of the vote in 2024, more than 82 percent supported him in Tuesday’s special election.

Wiedower resigned his House seat unexpectedly on Oct. 28, triggering Tuesday’s special election.

“This was a local race that focused on local issues,” Gisler said. “But it is clear people across the political spectrum turned out to vote. They voted because they are tired of the crises the Republicans have created in the cost of living, healthcare access and cost, and their war on our Constitutional rights as Americans.  I am grateful to every person who turned out to vote and make their voice heard.”

Gisler, a product management executive for an insurance tech startup and small business owner in Athens, is a graduate of the University of Georgia.  According to his filing with the Georgia Ethics Commission, his campaign had raised $39,000 as of Nov. 24.

The Republican candidate, Mack Guest IV, had not previously run for political office.  A small business owner and manager of LAD Trucking company in Watkinsville, GA, Guest reported to the GA Ethics Commission that between Nov. 7, when he qualified to run for the office, and the Nov. 24 filing deadline, his campaign had raised just under $144,000.

“This was a victory of quality over quantity,” Gisler said. “It proves that people really do understand that Georgia is at a crossroads and it’s time to take a new direction, one that restores commonsense leadership to the state and improves the wellbeing of all Georgians.”