CAIRO — Cairo businessman Phillip Drew defeated opponent Jesse Ryan Schober in a special election Tuesday night and will fill the vacant Grady County Board of Commissioners District 5 seat.

Denise Maddox, Grady County probate judge, announced at 8:28 p.m. Tuesday that Drew had defeated Schober by a margin of 225 votes to 62 votes.

“It feels good,” Drew said Wednesday morning. “It’s just setting in with me a little bit.”

Drew, 54, will complete the remainder of a four-year term which began Jan. 1. The term will expire Dec. 31, 2022.

Maddox said Drew will be sworn in Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m. The probate judge’s office stated the election results will likely not be certified until Friday and the commissioner-elect could not be sworn in until then.

A life-long Grady County resident, Drew currently works for JE Sharber Oil in Bainbridge and also owns and operates Grady Oil and Drew Service Station in Cairo.

Drew said he was awaiting the election results at a bulletin board outside The Cairo Messenger building when he learned his campaign was victorious.

“I went home, got something to eat and went to bed,” Drew said. “I had been campaigning for the past 12 hours, so I was on my feet and I was about ready to go to bed. I haven’t really celebrated yet because I have too much going on.”

The commission seat Drew will occupy has been vacant since Dec. 31, when former commissioner TD David resigned.

Drew said he has attended each commission meeting but one since he announced his candidacy Jan. 14 to ensure he was prepared for the issues that will be discussed.

The commissioner-elect thanked his supporters and said he was ready to be sworn into office.

“I plan to be there and start digging in,” Drew said.