Reese Wins Georgia Senate District 15 Seat
Teddy Reese defeated Chuck Hand to claim the state Senate seat vacated by longtime Senate Dean Ed Harbison.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Teddy Reese won the Georgia State Senate District 15 seat, receiving 71.23% of the vote against Chuck Hand's 28.77%. The race followed the retirement of Ed Harbison, who had served 34 years as Dean of the Georgia State Senate.
Why it matters
The result shifts the representation of Senate District 15 as Harbison, a long-serving figure in the chamber, leaves office. Reese, currently the House District 140 representative, will carry his legislative experience into the Senate.
Reese won 71.23% of the vote to Hand's 28.77%, with Hand carrying Taylor and Schley Counties. The extraction does not report total ballots cast or the vote share of the third candidate in the field.
The players
Teddy Reese
Reese is the Georgia state representative for House District 140, a seat he has held since 2022, and he served on the House Consumer Affairs and House Agriculture committees.
Ed Harbison
Harbison served 34 years as Dean of the Georgia State Senate before retiring, leaving the Senate District 15 seat open.
The details
Reese ran in a three-candidate field in Senate District 15, having entered the race in May. Hand, who lives in Butler, Georgia, won Taylor and Schley Counties, while Reese's margin across the district was decisive.
Timeline
May: Reese became a candidate for Senate District 15.
January: Reese is scheduled to begin his Senate duties following Harbison's retirement.
Political Context
The race marks the handoff from Ed Harbison, who held the Senate Dean post for 34 years, to Teddy Reese, who arrives from the House after serving in District 140 since 2022. Reese's move from a House seat to the Senate follows a path through the chamber's committee structure, including his prior work on consumer affairs and agriculture.
Senate District 15 voters now have a new state senator, with Reese replacing Harbison's seat when the new term begins in January. Residents of the district will see a change in who represents them in the state Senate.
The takeaway
The succession from a 34-year Senate Dean to a House veteran shows how state legislative seats move between chambers through elections. Voters in Senate District 15 now have a new representative to track as the January term begins.
What happens next
Reese will begin his Senate duties in January, following Harbison's retirement.
Further reading
For background on how state legislative seats are contested, see Georgia Elections.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Now Georgia.
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