Alonna Berry victorious in special election

The unofficial vote count for the District 20 special election went to Democrat Alonna Berry 4,653 to 4,532 over Republican Nikki Miller.

Berry attributed her success to the people of District 20 who she enjoyed meeting during her campaign for the District 20 seat. The seat was vacated at the end of June when former Rep. Stell Parker Selby, D-Milton, resigned because of health reasons after missing the entire session.

“I'm grateful and overwhelmed by the swell of support – folks on the ground, door knocking, phone banking, making sure that people know there’s an election, and they should participate,” she said.

Early voting numbers were in favor of Miller with 3,077 votes cast to Berry’s 2,940, but absentee ballots added 469 votes for Berry to Miller’s 193.

Now elected, Berry said she plans to start meeting with other officials.

“I think it’s critical to meet with our county council folks, meet with our municipality leadership, and meet with folks in Dover – cabinet secretaries, the governor’s office, just to really understand the issues heading into the next legislative session,” she said.

Berry said she has not heard of when she will be sworn in, but she expects to attend the special session on property tax assessments scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Berry has already filed to run for the 2026 election for the two-year District 20 seat, and will again meet Miller, who has filed to run as a Republican. Democrat Ruby Schaeffer has also filed for the District 20 seat in the 2026 election.