Republican Todd Jones defeated Democratic challenger and candidate Christa Olenczak Tuesday, Nov. 3, retaining his seat for District 25 in the Georgia House of Representatives.

“We are excited that the district chose to send me back to represent them at the Gold Dome and at Forsyth and Fulton Counties,” Rep. Jones said. “I’m feeling good; I’m feeling very optimistic.”

Jones, 53, a technology executive and resident of Forsyth County, has said that his top priorities for the upcoming legislative session are still consistent since he was sworn in in 2017.

Rep Jones’ priorities are primarily derived from his semi-annual constituent survey. “Good constructive feedback allows us to represent them [the constituents] in a manner that frankly, I know that they demand and they deserve,” Rep. Jones said.

“In 2021, I expect a significant amount of out-of-the-box thinking around how we can take some of the good and best practices we’ve found in education and apply them consistently around the state. And that’s in terms of access and in terms of availability,” Jones said.

Constituents that participated in the survey pre-COVID told Jones that HD25 constituents wanted to focus on the economy, education, transportation and healthcare. “Clearly, during COVID, we have found that it’s important that we address not just COVID in terms of the response around healthcare,” Jones said, “But also COVID in terms of the continuation and expansion of our economy.”

In terms of healthcare, Rep. Jones’ healthcare bill from 2020 dropped again. The bill will provide for no-cost health coverage for Georgians who made 200% of the federal poverty level and down. “We think that this bill alone will be transformational for Georgia and hopefully provide a kind of footprint for the other 49 states in terms of how we can do better for indigent healthcare,” Jones said.

In terms of the economy, Rep. Jones will continue to balance what he is doing with COVID and making sure that the welfare of citizens is paramount. “At the same time, we know that several small businesses are just on the cusp of being in peril,” Jones said, “And we need to make sure that we help them get through this challenging time.”

Rep. Jones would like to continue to ask constituents to give feedback. “We want to make sure that we’re hearing from them and hearing from them consistently,” Jones said. Rep. Jones encourages constituents to submit feedback through many different outlets: in-person or virtual town halls, email, social media, texts and phone calls. “We absolutely appreciate all the feedback we get,” Jones said, “And we want to continue to gather as much information as possible in terms of the priorities of our constituents."

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, Rep. Jones had 22,361 total or 62.9% of the vote.