The race for Coastal Georgia’s U.S. House representative was considered a safe seat for Republicans, yet it was hours after the top state races were called before Republican Jim Kingston declared victory over his Democratic challenger Amanda Hollowell.
The insurance broker and son of former U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston won the open seat 51.4% to 48.6%, a margin of victory under 8,000 votes, according to unofficial totals reported by the Secretary of State.
Browse 2026 Elections: Candidate lists, news
Stories on projects, policy, legislation
Kingston, a 37-year-old first-time candidate, explained his victory to his successful campaign fundraising and his commitment to help all constituents, no matter their political leaning. His team raised more than $2.5 million, he told supporters.
“When all this started, I was told I was too young to run for Congress,” he said to a crowd of around 50 people at Savannah Station, a downtown event space. “But so many of y’all here tonight ignored conventional thinking and said, ‘What if we went back to a better time, when American government functioned properly?’”
In early hours of Wednesday, with votes still trickling in from Effingham County, Hollowell, who held her own watch party at Savannah’s Sentient Bean coffee shop, had not conceded the race. Campaign officials and local Democratic Party leaders said late Tuesday they would request that election officials cure ballots.
Kingston, however, expressed confidence that his win would prevail, once ballot counts became official.
“Tonight, Southeast Georgia showed the country that we are above politics as usual,” he said.
“No matter what party you belong to, where you live, or what your background is, even if you don’t agree with everything I say, just know you’re going to have somebody up in our nation’s capital working tirelessly, making sure that Southeast Georgia remains the greatest place to live.”
