ATLANTA — As the first day of qualifying closed, one candidate had qualified for each of two seats being decided in a special election Jan. 31.

State Rep. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, who announced his resignation from the House last week, qualified Wednesday to seek the state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dean Burke of District 11. Burke, R-Bainbridge, announced his resignation one day earlier and will become the chief medical officer at the Georgia Department of Community Health.

Colquitt County Administrator Charles “Chas” Cannon qualified Wednesday to seek Watson’s District 172 seat.

Senate District 11 includes all of Colquitt County as well as all or part of Cook, Seminole, Decatur, Grady, Thomas and Brooks counties. House District 172 includes all of Colquitt County and part of Cook and Thomas counties.

Qualifying continues 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, 2 MLK Jr. Drive, Suite 802, Floyd West Tower, in Atlanta. The qualifying fee is $400.

While both Watson and Cannon are running as Republicans, each race could feature candidates from any party running against one another. There will not be a primary and general election the way it would be done in a normal election cycle.

Cannon announced his qualifying in an email to media just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“Effective leadership in government matters, and it is our responsibility to elect another qualified leader to fill Rep. Sam Watson’s seat,” Cannon said. “From growing up and working on the family farm, participating in multiple combat missions overseas, and serving for nearly a decade in local government administration, I believe I can be a strong advocate for the people of Thomas, Cook, and Colquitt counties. It would be an honor and a privilege to serve them in Atlanta.”

Cannon serves as Colquitt County administrator, the chief executive officer of the county government. He is also actively serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve with duty in Washington, DC in the Legislative Affairs Division.

He graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was a member of the Army Football Team. Following graduation, Cannon served as an active duty U.S. Army officer and participated in three operational combat deployments to Iraq. He was also selected to serve as an Army Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Congress, during which time he earned a Master’s of Professional Studies in Legislative Affairs at the George Washington University.

During his military career, Cannon earned a number of awards and decorations to include three Bronze Star Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the U.S. Army Airborne Parachutist Badge, the U.S. Army Air Assault Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Valorous Unit Award.

Recognized as a High Potential Leader by the University of Georgia Archway Partnership Program, Cannon is also a 2014 graduate of Leadership Colquitt and a 2015 graduate and 2022 Agriculture Program chair of Leadership Georgia. As a fifth-generation land owner and forestry land manager in Colquitt County, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Forestry Association and Forest Landowners Association. He is a lifelong hunter and an avid outdoorsman.

Cannon and his wife, Beth have two daughters and are members of First Presbyterian Church of Moultrie, where he has served as both a deacon and an elder.