A man who spent the better part of the last decade in the Newton County legislative delegation is looking to return to the Gold Dome.

Rick Jeffares is asking voters to send him back to Atlanta, saying his experience will help a sprawling state Senate district that includes all or parts of nine counties.

Jeffares, 57, represented Senate District 17 from 2011-17 as a Republican living in Henry County. He resigned to run for lieutenant governor but fell short of the GOP runoff in 2018.

Since then, Jeffares has moved to the Lake Jackson area.

Now he’s running for a return to the General Assembly after Sen. Burt Jones of Jackson announced this week he intends to run in the 2022 Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

Jeffares is running to succeed Jones in the District 25 seat.

Voters in District 17 elected Jeffares in 2010. At the time, District 17 included much of the area that’s now in the 25th District. Jeffares was elected then to succeed John Douglas, a Republican from Social Circle.

New lines after the 2010 census forced a change in the legislative maps and Jones was elected in 2012.

Jeffares remained in the 17th, which had about half the land in Newton County. After his resignation, Republican Brian Strickland of McDonough won a special 2018 election for the seat.

“These are exciting but troubling times we face as a state,” Jeffares said. “Sen. Jones seeking the office of lieutenant governor is good for Georgia, and I support him in his endeavor, and our district will miss him.

“As a former member of the Georgia state Senate, I will hit the ground running. My track record speaks for itself, and I look forward to listening to the district voters as I campaign.”

Jeffares began his career at the Henry County Water Authority and later led the Covington Water and Sewer Department.

He started J&T Environmental Services, an operation and maintenance services company that runs water and wastewater systems across Georgia. Jeffares moved the company to Jackson in 2019.

Jeffares is the president of the Georgia Rural Water Association.

Also in the race is Brett Mauldin of Madison.