Wolfe makes majority-party pitch as District 151 runoff with Cheokas nears

AMERICUS — When Ethan Wolfe asked voters across Georgia’s House District 151 this fall whether their longtime state representative had taken care of their needs, he said the answer was hard to miss.

“I heard a resounding no,” Wolfe said.

The Democrat and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel now gets a second chance to make that case. Wolfe will face Rep. Mike Cheokas, R-Americus, in a Dec. 1 runoff after neither candidate won a majority in the Nov. 3 three-way race.

Unofficial returns showed Cheokas with 47.88% of the vote, Wolfe with 40.85% and independent Travis Lockhart with 11.26%. Georgia law requires a candidate to win more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Cheokas did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this story. He also did not respond to The Albany Herald’s interview requests for an October story on the race.

A runoff with statewide stakes

The runoff carries weight well beyond the district, which takes in all of Chattahoochee, Marion, Schley, Stewart, Terrell and Webster counties and parts of Dougherty and Sumter counties. 

Democrats won a majority in the Georgia House on Nov. 3 for the first time since 2004. Unofficial results on election night showed Democrats winning 93 of the 180 seats.

That cushion narrowed days later in neighboring House District 154. Seminole County officials found 388 Election Day votes that had not been uploaded to the county’s election management system, turning Republican Rep. Gerald Greene’s 58-vote deficit against Democrat Harry James into a 262-vote lead, according to the secretary of state’s office. If Greene’s lead is certified, Democrats would hold 92 seats, one more than the 91 needed for a majority. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has opened an investigation into how the votes were missed.

District 151 is the only state House race in Georgia headed to a runoff. 

“Now that we’re in the runoff, we’re the only runoff in the whole state,” Wolfe said. “So we’re about to have a lot of folks descending upon southwest Georgia, not only to see what was going on, but also to help out.”

‘In a position to work with the majority’

Wolfe said the Nov. 3 results showed Georgia voters want change. But he argued that a new majority in Atlanta will not, on its own, deliver for the district’s rural counties.

“While we have change at the state level, which is going to help advance a lot of those main issues … we need someone here locally that focuses on the counties in District 151,” Wolfe said, naming Medicaid expansion, education funding and affordability among those statewide issues. “Each county has their own needs, right? I mean, we all have needs that are similar, but we also have individual needs that need to be addressed.”

The question Wolfe posed to voters was whether Cheokas had met those needs while serving with the House’s governing party, and how he would meet them now.

“If he’s elected back into office, and now he’s in the minority party of the General Assembly, why do you think he would fix those issues now, or how do you think he would fix those now, being in the minority?” Wolfe said.

“If I’m elected, I’m going to be in the majority in the House, and I’ll be in a position to work with the majority to make sure that we have the things we need in southwest Georgia in District 151.”.

Cheokas has served in the House for most of the past two decades, though not all of it in the majority party. He was first elected in 2004 as a Democrat and joined the House Republican Caucus after the 2010 election. He lost his seat in 2016 to Democrat Bill McGowan and returned to the House in 2019 after McGowan did not seek a second term. He has represented District 151 since 2023 and chairs the House Small Business Development Committee. 

‘He rarely shows up’

Wolfe said the 2021 redistricting reshaped District 151, and many voters in the newer parts of the district still do not know who represents them.

“They know that there’s a Republican incumbent, but they don’t know who he is because he rarely shows up,” Wolfe said. “Where I’ve been going, they’ve appreciated me showing up. I also like looking people in the eye when I talk to them and making that connection.”

He said local governments want the same thing. “Not only the people, but the municipalities and the counties want someone that can help further their goals … at the state level,” he said.

Wolfe said Cheokas had also declined interview requests from at least two other newspapers and did not appear at events Wolfe’s campaign had hoped he would attend. He urged The Herald to keep asking.

“Please keep reaching out to him, because I’d be very interested in where he stands on certain issues too,” Wolfe said. “I haven’t heard anything from him this election.”

Ground game

To close a gap of about 7 percentage points, Wolfe needs to hold his own voters, win over some of Lockhart’s and get both groups back to the polls on a runoff calendar shortened by Thanksgiving.

Wolfe said he will make his case to every voter in the district, whatever they did Nov. 3.

“I’m here to represent everyone in this district,” he said. “I don’t hold grudges, especially in politics, when it comes to who you voted for last election.”

He pointed to a question he fielded at a candidate forum about voters who planned to back the other party in the governor’s race.

“I served in the military for 30 years, and while I was serving in the military, I defended our Constitution and the right to vote,” Wolfe said. “For me to sit up there and tell [them] they have to vote a certain way — it’s just wrong of me to do, and I’m not going to do it. So now’s the time to regroup, and let’s focus on District 151 and what we need here.”

He also acknowledged where his campaign fell short.

“I’ve got a better ground game this time,” Wolfe said. “That’s one thing that the independent candidate beat me on. I could see that.”

Wolfe said the district has more than 35,000 registered voters spread across 2,195 square miles, about 26 people per square mile. 

“That’s why we really need to focus on a ground game, because it’s hard to reach some of these voters,” he said.

The runoff schedule means Wolfe will be campaigning while newly elected lawmakers learn the ropes in Atlanta.

“While a bunch of the freshman legislators are in orientation next week, I’m going to be on the campaign trail trying to get people to turn back out to go vote,” he said. Wolfe acknowledged he is still learning the legislative process and said, if elected, “it’s going to be a quick learning curve.”

Priorities unchanged

“My priorities are the same,” Wolfe said. “I’m trying to bring money to upgrade and modernize the infrastructure down in southwest Georgia.

“If we build infrastructure in southwest Georgia, that will lead to attracting good-paying jobs into southwest Georgia,” he said, adding that more hiring could “lower the poverty rate, like in Terrell County, and help people down here better their lives.”

“I don’t say their bad lives,” Wolfe added. “We all get caught in troubles at times, financial hardships, and I want to help it to where if we go through another economic downturn, we’re not having to lay off people everywhere.”

In October, Wolfe told The Herald he wants state infrastructure grants that require no local match, with at least half the money available up front, because many small towns cannot afford the 10% to 20% match that many grants require. He also named Medicaid expansion as a first-term priority.

‘An ear out’

Wolfe said his campaign pledge to hold regular town halls has not changed.

“I’ve always been one that wants to be transparent with everybody,” he said.

Outside the legislative session, and sometimes on weekends during it, Wolfe said he would be in the district. He said he plans to meet at least monthly with each county and city government, whether in person, over Zoom or by email.

“How am I supposed to represent the people in the counties and municipalities unless I’m in touch and know what’s going on in those counties?” Wolfe said. “It’s not to take over; it’s to have an ear out.”

He described a recent visit to Americus’ historic Rylander Theatre, where the theater’s new director asked whether he could help with infrastructure upgrades and remodeling of the building.

“I said, ‘Well, you know, I could help with that. I just need more information’,” Wolfe said.

He said constituents can follow his work through his campaign newsletter, Facebook page and website, ethanwolfeforga.com, and that he would keep the newsletter going if elected.

Cheokas reported $49,605 in campaign contributions this cycle, compared with $11,009.74 for Wolfe. Wolfe said his campaign is “always needing donations to reach people.”

The closing argument

Asked for his message to undecided voters and those returning to the polls, Wolfe aimed squarely at the incumbent’s tenure.

“To the voters of this district: The incumbent has been there for 20 years in the majority. What has he done for you in this district?” Wolfe said. “Are you better off now than you were 20 years ago, or even four years ago?”

How to vote in the runoff

• Election Day: Tuesday, Dec. 1. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Early voting: Nov. 23–25, a window shortened by the Thanksgiving holiday. Voters may use any early voting location in their county of residence.
• Absentee ballots: The last day to request one is Friday, Nov. 20. Completed ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Dec. 1.
• Check registration and polling places: Georgia My Voter Page, or call your county registrar.