In a hard-fought special election to fill the District 21 seat in the state Senate, Brandon Beach, a Republican from Alpharetta, has emerged the victor.

Beach garnered 58 percent of votes in the race, according to preliminary results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Opponent Sean Jerguson, a Republican from Holly Springs, received 42 percent.

“When I was going through the campaign, people were concerned about leadership, lower taxes and getting results. That’s what people want, and that’s what we ran on,” Beach said, noting that jobs and education are two of the biggest issues facing the district.

Beach lost to Chip Rogers in the July primary race for the Senate seat and decided to make another run when the former legislator resigned in December.

“It’s a great night for District 21,” Beach said Tuesday night, thanking his crew of campaign volunteers, including 30 Cherokee County volunteers.

Jerguson could not be reached by press time.

A total of 9,501 residents of Senate District 21 voted, according to preliminary results. Overall, Beach received 5,470 votes. Jerguson received 4,031 votes across the district.

Cherokee County elections officials reported voter turnout of about 10 percent. In Fulton County precincts, voter turnout was much lower, coming in under 5 percent.

Beach earned 52 percent of Cherokee County votes, or 3,925 votes. Jerguson received 48 percent of votes in Cherokee County, 3,660 votes.

In Fulton County, Beach garnered 81 percent of votes, or 1,545. Jerguson earned 371 votes in Fulton County.

After Rogers resigned. Jerguson subsequently resigned the House District 21 seat he’d been elected to in order to run for the position.

Republicans Scot Turner and Brian Laurens are headed to a Feb. 5 runoff to represent the House district.