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Scott Sanders (Georgia)

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Scott Sanders
Democratic Party
Elections and appointments
Last election
January 6, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
University of California, Santa Barbara
Personal
Birthplace
Santa Monica, CA
Religion
Christian
Profession
Technology Executive
Contact
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign Instagram
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Scott Sanders (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 23. He lost in the special general runoff election on January 6, 2026.

Sanders completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Scott Sanders was born in Santa Monica, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His career experience includes working as a technology executive.[1]

Elections

2025

See also: Georgia state legislative special elections, 2025

General Runoff

Special general runoff election for Georgia House of Representatives District 23

Bill Fincher (R) defeated Scott Sanders (D) in the special general runoff for Georgia House of Representatives District 23 on January 6, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Fincher
Bill Fincher (R)
 
71.4
 
4,345
Image of Scott Sanders
Scott Sanders (D)  Candidate Connection
 
28.6
 
1,742

There were no incumbents in this race. Source

Total votes: 6,087
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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General election

Special general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 23

The following candidates ran in the special general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 23 on December 9, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Fincher
Bill Fincher (R)
 
27.4
 
1,373
✔
Image of Scott Sanders
Scott Sanders (D)  Candidate Connection
 
26.7
 
1,340
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Brice Futch (R)
 
22.3
 
1,115
Image of Ann Gazell
Ann Gazell (R)  Candidate Connection
 
12.1
 
608
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Rajpal Sagoo (R)
 
11.2
 
559
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
William Ware (R)
 
0.3
 
16

There were no incumbents in this race. Source

Total votes: 5,011
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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Sanders in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Scott Sanders completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sanders' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

I've worked in the technology field for many years, much of that as a consultant and executive in large companies. The skill I bring to the table is the ability to unwind and solve large and complex problems and drive major technology initiatives to completion. This requires a specific mindset - the ability to focus on a goal and get everyone on board and in agreement with that goal. At that point, how you get to that goal becomes a discussion and compromise. This used to be how politics worked - we voted for those who represented our goals and trusted them to push and negotiate and sometimes compromise to achieve our goals. Now politics is all about HOW you act, and what you do - it's all a litmus test of positions. I'm in this to bring back common-sense, moderation, and bipartisan negotiation to solve problems instead of arguing or pulling political stunts. I will be a fierce advocate for my constituents and the people of Georgia, and I will work every moment with the intention of addressing the tough challenges that face our state.
  • Education is my top priority. I want to increase funding to schools, increase pay and resources for teachers, and remove restrictions on teachers and curriculum. It's too easy to cut education budgets because the effects are not felt until 5-10 years down the road and those who voted for the cuts can no longer be held responsible. For the same reason, it is an uphill battle to increase education funding and resources because the benefits grow over time and the results are not immediately apparent. I want Georgia to have the best schools and teachers in the country. I want Georgia students to be at the top of every National benchmark. I want to make us a model for what education can be and this takes a long term view and dedication.
  • There are some immediate issues that are facing the people of Georgia - affordability and health insurance. I want to pursue any option that can quickly provide or subsidize health insurance for Georgians facing soaring premium increases. I want to pursue any option that will assist Georgians in affording necessary goods and services, critical things like food, utilities, housing. This is an immediate and urgent need and will be my Day 1 push.
  • I want to fund and continue to build out public services and infrastructure. First responders are heroes and the backbone of our communities. I want to make sure they have the resources they need to keep us safe, protect our homes, and respond to emergencies. I want to increase funding for other areas such as healthcare resources and civic services like libraries and parks and community centers. This builds a stronger community, lifts up the people of Georgia and helps ensure that everyone is safe, has enough to eat, has a place to go and a way to get there.
I’m passionate about three areas of public policy: education, human rights, and voting access. I believe strong public schools are the foundation of opportunity, so I support investing in teachers, modern classrooms, and support services so every child can thrive. I’m committed to protecting human rights by advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and strong safeguards for the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, I care deeply about voter rights and expanding secure, fair access to the ballot for every eligible citizen.
Dedication to the welfare of everyone, not just their own party or majority. Transparency. Trust.
Willingness to put in the work, willingness to make the right decisions and votes without consideration of personal political consequences, respecting and listening to those who who you represent
Tricky question, trying to sort out chronologically the order of childhood memories. I'm going to go with the strongest memory of mine from childhood and it was the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. We were watching the launch in our classroom and saw it happen live. It is absolutely burned into my memory and probably plays a key part in my passion for space and space exploration and pride for my country and my deepest respect for the people who have sacrificed their lives for it.
I sold computers and word processers at Sears on commission. I was a young geeky teenager who knew way more about computers than most so I was employed as the 'closer' to discuss PC specifications and make recommendations to customers for the floor salespeople. That lasted about 6 months until the commission system was changed and I left to go work at a bookstore where I stayed for over two fun years.
It's a tie because of the opening lines of each of these books have been stuck in my head since the first time I read them.

Neuromancer by William Gibson. This book coined the phrase cyberpunk and has an opening line that perfectly encapsulates the entire tone and context of the entire excellent book and the world the author creates.

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. His writing is like poetry and sticks in your head for years. I've read Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear again nearly every year since they were published. This opening line is like a meditative mantra, a thing of beauty and complex simplicity.
A relationship where they can work together to benefit ALL of the people of the State.
Education and healthcare. The Department of Education has been gutted and many critical services and functions will fall to the States. Georgia needs to put together and implement a real plan to improve education for all students across the State. Let's be first and not last in the Nation. There are many rural areas that are about to lose local hospitals or other care facilities and that needs to be addressed. Georgia needs to step up and find a way to provide funding or services across Georgia for all citizens.
Sometimes. Not if they have been in the same position for decades. I support term limits.
Absolutely. Nothing gets done in a vacuum that is good for everyone. As I've said over and over, the common good and common goals are the point of being a legislature, not partisan politics. Fundamentally Democracy is a vote based system, you need votes to achieve anything so you need to work with everyone to get them onboard and vote.
Not at this time
Raising four great kids with our family values of kindness, honesty, and joy of life and the world around them.
Expanding and protecting voter rights to ensure secure, fair, and easy access to the ballot for every eligible citizen.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.


Campaign finance summary

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See also

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External links

Candidate

Georgia House of Representatives District 23
  • Website
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    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
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    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 15, 2025


    Current members of the Georgia House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Minority Leader:Carolyn Hugley
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    Will Wade (R)
    District 10
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    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    Brent Cox (R)
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    Jan Jones (R)
    District 48
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
    District 57
    District 58
    District 59
    District 60
    District 61
    District 62
    District 63
    District 64
    District 65
    District 66
    District 67
    District 68
    District 69
    District 70
    District 71
    District 72
    District 73
    District 74
    District 75
    Eric Bell (D)
    District 76
    District 77
    District 78
    District 79
    District 80
    Long Tran (D)
    District 81
    District 82
    District 83
    District 84
    District 85
    District 86
    District 87
    District 88
    District 89
    District 90
    District 91
    District 92
    District 93
    District 94
    Vacant
    District 95
    District 96
    District 97
    District 98
    District 99
    District 100
    District 101
    District 102
    District 103
    Soo Hong (R)
    District 104
    District 105
    District 106
    District 107
    District 108
    District 109
    District 110
    District 111
    District 112
    District 113
    District 114
    District 115
    District 116
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    District 119
    District 120
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    District 122
    District 123
    District 124
    District 125
    District 126
    District 127
    District 128
    District 129
    District 130
    Vacant
    District 131
    District 132
    District 133
    District 134
    District 135
    Beth Camp (R)
    District 136
    District 137
    District 138
    District 139
    District 140
    District 141
    District 142
    District 143
    District 144
    District 145
    District 146
    District 147
    District 148
    District 149
    District 150
    District 151
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    District 153
    District 154
    District 155
    District 156
    District 157
    District 158
    District 159
    Jon Burns (R)
    District 160
    District 161
    District 162
    District 163
    District 164
    District 165
    District 166
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    District 168
    District 169
    District 170
    District 171
    District 172
    District 173
    District 174
    District 175
    District 176
    District 177
    District 178
    District 179
    District 180
    Republican Party (99)
    Democratic Party (79)
    Vacancies (2)


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