Longtime Georgia House Speaker David Ralston dies

ATLANTA (WRDW/WAGT) - Days after stepping down as Georgia House speaker, Rep. David Ralston has died, according to his staff.

“Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), 73rd Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, ed away today following an extended illness,” Ralston’s Communications Director Kaleb McMichen tweeted. “He was 68 years old. His loving wife, Sheree, and of their family were with him when he ed.”

Ralston just stepped down last week while keeping his job as a state representative, saying he needed to focus on a health issue.

Georgia House Democrats offered their condolences for Ralston, who’d been House speaker from 2010 until his resignation.

Democratic Caucus Dean Calvin Smyre said: “A great pine tree has fallen in the Georgia House of Representatives. Speaker David Ralston was my friend and we worked closely on many issues facing Georgia. His leadership will be sorely missed. My prayers are with the Ralston family during these difficult times.”

House Democratic leader James Beverly said: “It is with profound sadness and grief that I found out today that Speaker Ralston has ed. Words cannot begin to express my sorrow for his family, for his friends, and for the great state of Georgia, and especially for the House. He was truly a giant amongst men, a friend indeed.”

After Ralston stepped down from the leadership post, House Majority Leader Jon Burns was elected the new speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday.

Burns represents District 159 in southeast Georgia, including Effingham and Bulloch counties.

While keeping his seat as a state representative from Dalton, Ralston resigned as speaker of the House last week due to health reasons.

State Rep. Barry Fleming, a conservative Republican from the Augusta area, was also running for speaker.

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