Oconee County voters who decide to cast a ballot in the Dec. 9 Special Election to fill the vacancy for Georgia House District 121 will have only two names to choose from, Democrat Eric Gisler and Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest IV.
Republican Steven Strickland, who had declared for the opening soon after Republican Marcus Wiedower announced he was stepping down on Oct. 28, decided not to qualify by the 1 p.m. deadline on Monday (Nov. 10).
The question now is how many people in the three precincts in Oconee County and the 10 precincts in Clarke County that make up the 121st House District will cast a ballot.
Early voting starts in a week–on Nov. 17–giving the candidates little time to do more than try to motivate their respective party constituents to cast a ballot. Both Gisler and Guest live in Oconee County.
The 121st is designed as a Republican district. Strongly Democratic Clarke County is carved up into four House Districts, with three of the four currently represented by Republicans.
In a special election in 2017, however, when Oconee and Clarke were together in the 119th House District, the predecessor to House District 121, Democrat Jonathan Wallace won outright with 56.7 percent of the vote in a four-way race with Republicans Wiedower, Strickland, and Tom Lord.
Turnout in Clarke County in that election was 26.1 percent, compared with 22.4 percent in Oconee County.
The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration, in its certification meeting on Nov. 7 for the Nov. 4 election, made plans to accommodate any level of turnout for the Dec. 9 election.
Gisler Already Declared for Race
Gisler, a product manager with insurance technology startup Assurified and owner of the retail store Olive Basket in Epps Bridge Centre, would seem to have something of an advantage in motivating those most likely to turn out and vote for him.
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| Gisler After Qualifying From News Release 11/10/2025 |
He already was running for the party’s nomination to challenge Wiedower in the May Party Primary when Wiedower stepped down.
He is active in the Oconee County Democratic Party, served as the party co-chair, and was the party’s nominee to run against Wiedower in 2024.
In that 2024 race, Gisler received 64.7 percent of the vote in Clarke County, but he got only 26.0 percent of the vote in Oconee County.
Twice as many Oconee County voters cast a ballot as did voters in Clarke County, and the final vote tally for Gisler across the 121st District was 38.9 percent.
Gisler is a native of Jonesboro, earned a degree from the University of Georgia, and has lived in the district since 2003.
“Our community deserves a representative who listens, works across divides, and focuses on solutions that make life better for everyone,” Gisler said in his announcement of his decision to run in the Dec. 9 election.
“Our district and the state of Georgia face an important choice about the future in this special election,” the statement continued.
Gisler has been meeting with groups in both Oconee and Clarke counties. He spoke at the Bethel Baptist Church in Watkinsville on Sunday.
Guest Announced On Monday
Both Gisler and Guest qualified on Friday (Nov. 7), but Guest only made an official announcement of his candidacy on Monday (Nov. 10).
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| Guest Photo From News Release 11/10/2025 |
Guest has not been active in the local Republican Party, but, in his announcement, he described himself as a “lifelong Republican.”
“After much prayer, conversation, and reflection,” he said in his announcement, “I’ve decided to run for State House to give back to the community that has given so much to my family and me. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and it was made together as a family. The Guests are all in.”
Guest is vice president of LAD Truck Lines, a logistics company with warehouses and operations space on Barnett Shoals Road in Watkinsville abutting Wire Park. Mack Guest III founded the company more than 25 years ago.
Guest IV has ties with the local Oconee County business community, having served as President of the Oconee County Rotary Club and President of the Touchdown Club of Athens.
He also is on the Community Advisory Board for Oconee State Bank, according to his announcement.
Oconee County Commissioner Mark Thomas is his campaign chairman.
“I want to focus on the issues that matter most to the people who call this district home, and to me, that means improving transportation, strengthening education, and keeping our communities safe,” Guest IV says in his news release. “In Atlanta, every decision I make will be for our families, for our businesses, and for our values.”
Guest is scheduled to appear before the Oconee County Republican Party at 6 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Piedmont Oconee Health Campus lobby meeting room, 1305 Jennings Mills Road. The party does not allow recording of its meetings, but I will attend and write a summary.
Election History
In the two elections since redistricting and the creation of House District 121, Republicans have won handily.
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| Clarke County's Four House Districts |
Wiedower received 61.1 percent of the vote against Gisler’s 38.9 percent in 2024 and 60.4 percent in 2022 against Democratic nominee Jeff Auerbach’s 39.6 percent.
In both elections, Wiedower did poorly in Clarke County, getting only 35.3 percent of the vote against Gisler in 2024 and 33.0 percent against Auerbach in 2022.
Only 33.2 percent of the votes cast in the 2024 election were in Clarke County, and only 33.0 percent of the votes cast in 2022 were in Clarke County.
In 2020, when Wiedower defeated former Democratic representative Wallace in the 119th House District with 54.9 percent of the vote, Clarke County voters contributed 43.0 percent of the vote.
In 2018, when Wiedower defeated then Representative Wallace with 52.8 percent of the vote, 44.4 percent of the votes were cast in Clarke County.
In the special election in 2017 that put Wallace in the statehouse with that 56.7 percent of the vote, 49.0 percent of the votes were cast in Clarke County.
A referendum on a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax was on the ballot that year in Clarke County along with the special election, while only the special election was on the Oconee County ballot.
That year, in the 117th House District, the forerunner to the current House District 120 now represented by Houston Gaines, Democrat Deborah Gonzalez received 53.2 percent of the vote to 46.9 percent for Gaines.
Current Registration
Voters in three of Oconee County’s four precincts are in the 121st House District and will be able to vote. Those are Dark Corner, Oconee Central, and Oconee South.
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| Oconee County's Four Precincts Only Area In Brown Falls Outside 121st |
Oconee Northeast, the combination of the previous Bogart and Marswood Hall precincts, is in the 120th. Gaines, although he is running for Congress, has said he intends to serve out his term representing the 120th District.
At present, 26,927 active and inactive voters are in the three Oconee County Precincts.
The 120th district in Clarke County includes 10 of the county’s 25 precincts, but the 121 House District lines cut across boundaries of eight of those 10 precincts.
Only two precincts, 1C Barnett Shoals Elementary and 8C Fire Station #7, are entirely in the 121st District.
Two of the 10 precincts, 3A Clarke Central High and Thomas Lay Park, have fewer than 100 voters who are part of the 121st House District.
A total of 15,527 voters are in the 121st District in Clarke County going into the election.
That give Oconee County an edge of 63.4 percent versus 36.6 percent in Clarke.
In the Nov. 4 election, incumbent Republican Tim Echols and incumbent Republican Fitz Johnson received 58.6 percent and 58.0 percent of the votes respectively in those three precincts in the two statewide Public Service Commission races.
In the two precincts in Clarke County wholly in the 121st 1C (Barnett Shoals Elementary) and 8C (Fire Station #7), Echols received only 13.7 percent (1C) and 16.5 percent (8C)
In those two Clarke precincts wholly in the 121st District, Fitz Johnson received 12.4 percent (1C) and 14.8 percent (8C).
Both Gisler and Guest would seem to have enough voters to win, so the one who gets more of his voters to the polls will do so.
Board Of Elections
Most of the meeting of the Oconee County Board of Elections on Nov. 7 was dedicated to the formality of certifying the election results from the Nov. 4 elections.
In her report to the Board, Sharon Gregg, Director of Elections and Registration, said the election had run smoothly, though a scanner did malfunction at one of the polling locations, causing the workers to go into what she called "emergency mode." In the end, she said she was able to verify that the correct number of ballots were scanned.
In the future, at two scanners will be used at polling stations, she said.
On election day, Gregg said, "the turnout was greater than anticipated."
"We did have lines at the Civic Center due to not having enough equipment," she said. "Going forward, we plan to employ a lot more (voting machines) at the Civic Center."
Final turnout, calculated as the number of ballots cast divided by the number of active voters, was 25.7 percent, with 53.0 percent of the votes cast at the precinct voting location on election day.
Early voting has been greater than election day voting in most recent elections.
Other Candidates, Finances
Doug McKillip choose to stay in his race for the Republican Party nomination for Senate District 46 rather than switch to the 121st District race.
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| Green Is House District 121 Clarke County is Above The Dark Line Border With Oconee County (Click To Enlarge) |
McKillip sent out a mailer this weekend that left open which of the races he was running, but he said in an email on Monday that said “Nothing has changed,” meaning he is still in the Senate race.
Strickland, who initially had said he also would run for the open Senate District 46 seat, said in a text message on Monday that he will decide after the holidays if he will continue in the Senate primary.
Wiedower did not file his required June 30 Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report, but his Jan. 31 report listed $432,889 as his current cash balance.
According to Becky Thatcher at the Georgia Ethics Commission, he is limited to a contribution of $3,300 from those monies to another candidate, such as Guest. But he also can give the money to the Georgia Republican Party, which can spend it with fewer restrictions.
Thatcher said Wiedower is not obligated to spend the money as long as he continues to file reports on its use.
Gisler and Guest both are registered on the Georgia Ethics Commission system, but the Campaign Finance system shows both with zero cash on hand.
Gisler reported having $5,056 net balance on hand in his June 30 report. Video
The video below is of the meeting of the Board of Elections and Registration held on Nov. 7, 2025, in the Commission Chamber of the Oconee County Administrative Building.
Gregg reported on the Nov. 4 election at 14:54 in the video.
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