NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Bill Powers has won a Tennessee Senate special election.

The Clarksville city councilman and auto dealer defeated Democrat Juanita Charles by about 9 percentage points Tuesday. Charles is a U.S. Army veteran and a Clarksville real estate agent.

The Senate District 22 seat opened up after Republican Mark Green won his current seat in the U.S. House last year. Independent Rosalind Kurita temporarily replaced Green in the Senate after he took office in Congress in January.

Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers of the state General Assembly. With Powers, the GOP has a 28-5 Senate majority over Democrats.

Powers is expected to be sworn in on Monday, near the tail end of the annual legislative session that began in January.

His district covers Stewart, Houston and Montgomery counties.