Former Floyd County Commissioner Eddie Lumsden has reversed his fortunes of eight years ago and defeated incumbent House member Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, for the State House District 12 seat.

Lumsden, a Republican, received 51.5 percent of the vote.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, with an undetermined number of provisional ballots outstanding in Floyd and Chattooga counties, Lumsden received 8,754 votes to 8,240 for Reece.

Lumsden carried 10 of 11 precincts in Floyd County and 4 of 13 in Chattooga County to build his victory.

In 2004, Reece took 57.5 percent of the vote to defeat Lumsden.

“Things have changed since she was first elected and we’re in a different time and a different place now,” Lumsden said. “When two-thirds of the House body are made up of one party and you’re not a member of that party, it makes it more difficult for you to accomplish things that you need to get done. That’s been my primary argument during this process. It takes a lot of people on the same page to get things accomplished.”

“There is life after elected office,” Reece said. “I certainly appreciate all the citizens of Floyd, Chattooga and even Walker counties because for several years I represented part of Walker County. I have no regrets about what I’ve done in office representing the people or in the planning and carrying out of this campaign.”

Lumsden said that he didn’t go into the race with any specific priorities legislatively speaking.

“I think I’m going to go take my signs down and figure out how I can go about doing the job,” Lumsden said. “I did not go into this with a number of specific priorities as far as bills or issues are concerned.”

Reece said she would do whatever she can to assist in making a smooth transition, but that she would continue to be an active full time representative until the first day of the next legislative session in January.

Republican Trey Kelley ousted Democratic incumbent Rick Crawford for the House District 16 seat representing Bartow, Polk and Haralson counties. Kelley received 11,556 votes to Crawford’s 5,173. Crawford, whose district previously included a portion of Floyd County, created a stir when he announced several weeks ago that he planned to switch to the GOP following the election. Many leading Democrats publicly urged their faithful to vote for Kelley.

In unopposed legislative races, Rome Republican Chuck Hufstetler won the state Senate District 52 race and will represent Floyd and portions of Bartow, Chattooga and Gordon counties in the Georgia Senate after defeating David Doss and Hayden Collins in the primary election earlier this year.

Christian Coomer, R-Cartersville District 14, and Katie Dempsey, R-Rome District 13, were returned to the Georgia House of Representatives without opposition this year.