By Mark Woolsey

Cobb County dentist and former school board member Jaha Howard won a victory over former State Rep. Roger Bruce in the special runoff for State Senate District 35.

Final unofficial results show Howard garnering 3,229 votes, or 51.90 percent of all ballots cast, while Bruce managed  2,993, 48.10 percent.

The district encompasses parts of South Cobb and Western and Southern Fulton Counties. The results still have to be certified by both the Fulton and Cobb County election boards.

The Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration is set to meet Dec. 22 at 3 p.m. for that purpose. Cobb’s election board is set to meet the same day at 4 p.m.

The runoff became necessary when none of six candidates polled more than 50 percent of the vote in the original election Nov. 18. Howard and Bruce were the top two vote getters in that round of balloting as well.

In addition to Howard,  Bruce is a former Democratic elected official. He served in the state House from 2003 until he retired in 2024.

Howard will apparently replace former State Sen. Jason Esteves, who resigned to more closely focus on his gubernatorial campaign.