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Tonya Anderson

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Tonya Anderson
Image of Tonya Anderson

Democratic Party

Georgia State Senate District 43
Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

8

Prior offices
Georgia House of Representatives District 92

Compensation

Base salary

$24,341.64/year

Per diem

$247/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Tonya Anderson (Democratic Party) is a member of the Georgia State Senate, representing District 43. She assumed office on January 9, 2017. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Anderson (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 43. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Tonya Anderson is from Lithonia, Georgia. She served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves for more than 21 years before retiring in 2012. Anderson earned a B.S. in business administration and management from Alabama State University in 1992 and a Master of Divinity in divinity and ministry from Luther Rice College & Seminary in 2008. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Global International Alliance. As of February 2021, Anderson volunteered with the NAACP, the NCNW, and the NCBW. In 2016, she was honored by the president of the National Disabled American Veterans organization for her advocacy on behalf of the veteran community.[1][2]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Anderson was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Anderson was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Anderson was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Georgia committee assignments, 2017
• Public Safety
• Retirement
• Special Judiciary
• Veterans, Military and Homeland Security

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Anderson served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Anderson served on the following committees:


Elections

2024

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 43 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson (D)
 
100.0
 
80,092

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 80,092
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson
 
100.0
 
18,379

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 18,379
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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.

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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Anderson in this election.

2022

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson defeated Melanie Williams in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 43 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson (D)
 
75.1
 
51,534
Image of Melanie Williams
Melanie Williams (R)
 
24.9
 
17,128

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 68,662
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson defeated Joe Lester in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson
 
87.8
 
18,681
Image of Joe Lester
Joe Lester Candidate Connection
 
12.2
 
2,587

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 21,268
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Melanie Williams advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melanie Williams
Melanie Williams
 
100.0
 
7,997

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,997
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson defeated Melanie Williams in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 43 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson (D)
 
77.5
 
67,857
Image of Melanie Williams
Melanie Williams (R) Candidate Connection
 
22.5
 
19,703

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 87,560
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson
 
100.0
 
34,514

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 34,514
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Melanie Williams advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Melanie Williams
Melanie Williams Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
7,131

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,131
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 43 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson (D)
 
99.8
 
60,152
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
99

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 60,251
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 43

Incumbent Tonya Anderson defeated Joel Thibodeaux in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 43 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tonya Anderson
Tonya Anderson
 
84.4
 
13,099
Image of Joel Thibodeaux
Joel Thibodeaux
 
15.6
 
2,415

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 15,514
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia 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 the Georgia 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.

Tonya Anderson defeated incumbent Janice Frey Van Ness in the Georgia State Senate District 43 general election.[3][4]

Georgia State Senate, District 43 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tonya Anderson 70.43% 50,436
     Republican Janice Frey Van Ness Incumbent 29.57% 21,175
Total Votes 71,611
Source: Georgia Secretary of State


Tonya Anderson and Dee Dawkins-Haigler defeated Toney Collins in the Georgia State Senate District 43 Democratic primary.[5][6]

Georgia State Senate, District 43 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tonya Anderson 46.04% 5,871
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Dee Dawkins-Haigler 34.44% 4,391
     Democratic Toney Collins 19.52% 2,489
Total Votes 12,751


Tonya Anderson defeated Dee Dawkins-Haigler in the Georgia State Senate District 43 Democratic Primary Runoff.[7]

Georgia State Senate, District 43 Democratic Primary Runoff, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tonya Anderson 50.05% 4,270
     Democratic Dee Dawkins-Haigler 49.95% 4,262
Total Votes 8,532


Incumbent Janice Frey Van Ness ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 43 Republican primary.[5][6]

Georgia State Senate, District 43 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Janice Frey Van Ness Incumbent (unopposed)


2015

See also: Georgia state legislative special elections, 2015

A special election for the position of Georgia State Senate District 43 was called for November 3.[8] A runoff election took place on December 1.[9] The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 16.[8]

The seat was vacant following Ronald Ramsey's (D) resignation in July 2015 to become a judge on the DeKalb County traffic court.[10]

Tonya Anderson (D), Stan Williams (D), Sharon Griffin Sawyer (D), Rodney Upton (D), Marcus Jordan (D), Janice Frey Van Ness (R), Diane Adoma (R) and William "Bill" Kennedy (R) faced off in the special election. Angela Moore (I) was disqualified from the race, but remained on the ballot.[11][12] Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Anderson and Frey Van Ness, met in a runoff election, which Frey Van Ness won.[13][14]

Georgia State Senate, District 43, Special Election Runoff, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJanice Frey Van Ness 50.5% 3,865
     Democratic Tonya Anderson 49.5% 3,781
Total Votes 7,646
Georgia State Senate, District 43, Special Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJanice Frey Van Ness (advanced to runoff) 37.1% 2,995
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngTonya Anderson (advanced to runoff) 26.1% 2,110
     Democratic Stan Williams 14.5% 1,170
     Democratic Sharon Griffin Sawyer 9.4% 763
     Democratic Marcus Jordan 5.5% 446
     Republican Diane D. Adoma 3.4% 278
     Republican William "Bill" Kennedy 3.1% 254
     Democratic Rodney Upton 0.7% 59
Total Votes 8,075

2014

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with runoff elections taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Tonya P. Anderson was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[15][16][17]

2012

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2012

Anderson ran in the 2012 election for Georgia House of Representatives District 92. Anderson ran against Doreen Carter, Kathy L. Harvey, Sherri Len Washington and Doreen Williams in the Democratic primary on July 31, 2012. Anderson and Doreen Williams advanced to the runoff election to determine winner of the Democratic nomination and the district seat.[18] The runoff primary between Anderson and Williams was initially too close to call. Anderson emerged as the winner.[19] The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[20][21] Anderson ran unopposed in the general election.[22]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 92, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngTonya Anderson 100% 16,315
Total Votes 16,315
Georgia House of Representatives District 92 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTonya Anderson (advanced to runoff) 24.6% 1,105
Green check mark transparent.pngDoreen Williams (advanced to runoff) 23.9% 1,076
Sherri Len Washington 22.7% 1,021
Doreen Carter 19.8% 890
Kathy L. Harvey 9% 405
Total Votes 4,497

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tonya Anderson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Tonya Anderson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Tonya Anderson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Tonya Anderson campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Georgia State Senate District 43Won general$35,550 $33,174
2022Georgia State Senate District 43Won general$46,771 $0
2020Georgia State Senate District 43Won general$14,261 N/A**
2018Georgia State Senate District 43Won general$25,025 N/A**
2016Georgia State Senate, District 43Won $46,997 N/A**
2014Georgia House of Representatives, District 92Won $2,905 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Georgia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016



Noteworthy events

Decision to self-quarantine for coronavirus on March 19, 2020

See also: Political incumbents, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with COVID-19 or quarantined due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020

Anderson, along with her Georgia State Senate colleagues, entered self-quarantine after State Sen. Brandon Beach tested positive for coronavirus.[23]

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External links

Candidate

Georgia State Senate District 43
  • Website
    		•

    Officeholder

    Georgia State Senate District 43
  • Website
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    Personal

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Tonya P. Anderson," accessed August 9, 2021
    2. ↑ State of Georgia Senate Press Office, "Senator Tonya P. Anderson," accessed August 9, 2021
    3. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed August 17, 2016
    4. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election results," accessed November 23, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 13, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "General primary results," accessed May 24, 2016
    7. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Runoff," accessed July 26, 2016
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rockdale News, "Governor calls for District 43 Special Election," accessed September 8, 2015
    9. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Call for Special Election in State Senate District 43," accessed September 17, 2015
    10. ↑ Rockdale News, "Special election for District 43 to be called," August 1, 2015
    11. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Georgia Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp Releases Final Decision on Candidate Challenge," accessed October 20, 2015
    12. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed September 17, 2015
    13. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Special Election Results for November 3, 2015," accessed November 3, 2015
    14. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Special Election - December 1, 2015," accessed December 2, 2015
    15. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed March 10, 2014
    16. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed May 28, 2014
    17. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
    18. ↑ Associated Press, "Georgia - Summary Vote Results" accessed July 31, 2012
    19. ↑ AP Results, "Georgia State House Runoff Election Results," accessed August 21, 2012
    20. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed May 29, 2012
    21. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election July 31, 2012," accessed August 9, 2012
    22. ↑ Georgia Elections Division, "2012 Election Results" accessed November 16, 2012
    23. ↑ WGAU 98.7FM & AM1340, “Senator tests positive for coronavirus, Athens lawmakers self-quarantine,” March 19, 2020

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Georgia State Senate District 43
    2017-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Georgia House of Representatives District 92
    2013-2015    		 Succeeded by
    -


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