Georgia State Senate District 56

Incumbent

John Albers

Assumed office: January 10, 2011

Georgia State Senate District 56 is represented byJohn Albers (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Georgia state senators represented an average of191,523 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented173,707 residents.

About the chamber

Members of theGeorgia State Senate servetwo-year terms and are not subject toterm limits. Georgia legislators assume office the second Monday in January.

Qualifications

See also:State legislature candidate requirements by state

Paragraph 3 of Section 2 of Article 3 of theGeorgia Constitution states, "At the time of their election, the members of the Senate shall be citizens of the United States, shall be at least 25 years of age, shall have been citizens of this state for at least two years, and shall have been legal residents of the territory embraced within the district from which elected for at least one year."^[1]

GA Code § 21-2-8 states that an individual cannot hold public office if they are "not a qualified voter entitled to vote."^[2]

Salaries

See also:Comparison of state legislative salaries

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in theGeorgia General Assembly, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. If the vacancy occurs during a legislative session, thegovernor must declare a special election no later than 10 days after the vacancy happens. If the vacancy occurs after the regular legislative session held during the first year of the term of office for members, the governor may order a special election at any time but no later than 60 days before the November general election. If the vacancy occurs between 60 days before the November general election and the next legislative session, the governor is required to order a special election within 10 days.^[4]

The special election must be held no less than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the governor calls for the election. The counties representing the vacant district are responsible for conducting the election.^[4]

See sources:Georgia Code § 21-2-544

District map

Redistricting

See also:Redistricting in Georgia

In Georgia, both congressional and state legislative district lines are drawn by the state legislature. A simple majority in each chamber is required to approve redistricting plans, which are subject to veto by thegovernor.^[5]

TheGeorgia Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous. There are no similar requirements for congressional districts.^[5][6]

2020-2023

See also:Redistricting in Georgia after the 2020 census

Thedistrict court's approval of remedial state legislative maps was appealed to theEleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral argument was held on January 23, 2025.^[7]

Governor Kemp (R) signed revised legislative maps into law on December 8, 2023. Legislators in the Georgia House of Representatives voted 98-71 to adopt the new state legislative maps on December 5. The Georgia State Senate voted 32-23 to adopt the state legislative maps on December 1. For more information about the enacted legislative maps,click here.^[8][9]

Below are the maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Georgia’s 2024 state legislative elections.

Elections

2026

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers (R) andLee Hills (R) are running in the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		John Albers
		Lee Hills

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined.
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2024

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers defeatedJD Jordan in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 56 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers (R)	61.2	72,392
		JD Jordan (D)	38.8	45,836

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 118,228
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

JD Jordan advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		JD Jordan	100.0	7,925

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,925
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers	100.0	12,551

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,551
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2022

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers defeatedPatrick Thompson in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 56 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers (R)	61.6	58,121
		Patrick Thompson (D)	38.4	36,156

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,277
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

Patrick Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Thompson	100.0	10,604

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,604
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers	100.0	31,495

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,495
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2020

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers defeatedSarah Beeson in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 56 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers (R)	51.1	51,476
		Sarah Beeson (D)	48.9	49,284

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,760
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

Sarah Beeson advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Beeson	100.0	19,339

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,339
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers	100.0	13,639

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,639
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2018

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers defeatedEllyn Jeager in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 56 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers (R)	52.5	41,874
		Ellyn Jeager (D)	47.5	37,902

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,776
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

Ellyn Jeager defeatedPatrick Thompson andJim Guess Jr. in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellyn Jeager	64.2	5,393
		Patrick Thompson	23.8	1,999
	Submit photo	Jim Guess Jr.	12.0	1,006

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 8,398
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56

IncumbentJohn Albers advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 56 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Albers	100.0	9,508

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 9,508
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2016

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for theGeorgia State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.

IncumbentJohn Albers defeatedPatrick Thompson in the Georgia State Senate District 56 general election.^[10][11]

Georgia State Senate, District 56 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John AlbersIncumbent	59.88%	49,202
	Democratic	Patrick Thompson	40.12%	32,969
Total Votes				82,171
Source:Georgia Secretary of State

Patrick Thompson defeatedAkhtar Sadiq in the Georgia State Senate District 56 Democratic primary.^[12][13]

Georgia State Senate, District 56 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick Thompson	53.04%	1,507
	Democratic	Akhtar Sadiq	46.96%	1,334
Total Votes				2,841

IncumbentJohn Albers ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 56 Republican primary.^[12][13]

Georgia State Senate, District 56 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	John AlbersIncumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for theGeorgia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with a runoff election taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014.Akhtar Sadiq was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbentJohn E. Albers was unopposed in the Republican primary. Sadig was defeated by Albers in the general election.^[14][15][16]

Georgia State Senate, District 56 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Albers	69.7%	34,734
	Democratic	Akhtar Sadiq	30.3%	15,087
Total Votes				49,821

2012

See also:Georgia State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office ofGeorgia State Senate consisted of a primary election on July 31, 2012, and a general election onNovember 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 25, 2012. IncumbentJohn Albers (R) defeatedAkhtar Sadiq (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.^[17][18] A total of $148,963 was raised by 2012 candidates in the district, with Albers outraising Sadiq by a margin of $139,174 to $9,789.^[19]

Georgia State Senate, District 56, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John AlbersIncumbent	67.3%	48,145
	Democratic	Akhtar Sadiq	32.7%	23,438
Total Votes				71,583

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Georgia State Senate District 56 raised a total of $2,349,819. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $97,909 on average. All figures come fromFollow the Money

See also

Suggest a link

• Georgia State Legislature
• Georgia State Senate
• Georgia House of Representatives

External links

• The Georgia State Legislature

Footnotes

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