Jackson, Banks, Madison counties moving to Ninth District

Since Gordon County would move from the old Ninth District into the new 14th District, the proposed Ninth District probably will have no incumbent. However, federal election law does not require a representative to live in the district he or she represents — just in the state — so conceivably Graves could run for re-election in the Ninth.

“It’ll be open to anybody who wants to run and can raise the money to do it,” observed Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), who said he will vote for the new map.

“I think it will be a pretty influential district,” said Benton, observing that among its residents are Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, speaker of the House David Ralston and agriculture commissioner Gary Black.

Benton said he’s spoken with others in the Georgia House whose counties will move from the 10th to the ninth.

“They are real happy not to have Augusta dominating things,” Benton said.

Moving out of the 10th District into the Ninth are Jackson, Banks, Madison, Elbert, Hart, Franklin, Stephens, Habersham, Rabun and Towns counties and the upper third of Clarke.

Essentially, the change moves the 10th district south and moves the Ninth District to the east and south.

The proposed new Ninth District would run from the upper third of Clarke County east to the South Carolina line and north to the North Carolina line. It will comprise all of Jackson, Madison, Elbert, Hart, Franklin, Banks, Hall, Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Habersham, Stephens, Rabun, Towns, Union, Gilmer and Fannin counties, the east half of Pickens County, the top half of Forsyth County and the upper third of Clarke County.

Benton said Monday afternoon that he expects very little change in the proposal.