Earles, Smith prepare for Georgia House 129 runoff on Dec. 1

Pine Mountain businessman Steve Earles has less than four weeks to figure out how to cut into Kip Smith’s large advantage in the race for the vacant Georgia House 129 seat.

Smith was the leading vote-getter in a four-man race to fill the seat held for 17 years by his father, Vance Smith, now commissioner of the Department of Transportation. Kip Smith got 49.4 percent of the vote and fell less than 60 votes short of winning the race without a runoff, according to totals supplied by the Secretary of State’s office.

Earles got 22 percent of the vote, more than 1,200 fewer than Smith.

Smith easily carried Harris and Muscogee counties, while Earles took a small victory in Troup County.