ATLANTA — Hall County Republican Casey Cagle won re-election as the state’s lieutenant governor by a wide margin, and will again lead the state Senate as one of Gov. Nathan Deal’s top legislative leaders.

Cagle defeated one of his former colleagues in the state Senate, Connie Stokes of Decatur, in the midterm elections Tuesday, earning 60 percent of the vote.

Cagle has held Georgia’s second-highest state office since he was first elected in 2006. The lieutenant governor serves as presiding officer of the state Senate.

Cagle raised a daunting $2.5 million to fund his re-election campaign, which paid for slick commercials scattered amid the warring ads in the more high profile races for U.S. Senate and governor.

Stokes, who raised less than $87,000 as of Sept. 30, was among a record five black women who ran for statewide office in Georgia this year.

“We’re extremely excited to have won by the margin that we did,” Cagle said when reached by telephone at the GOP victory party in Atlanta.

Cagle said he was stunned by the strong turnout in Hall County.

“It’s very, very humbling,” he said. Cagle won 83.44 percent of the vote in Hall County.

“I owe everything to Hall County. It’s all that I know. Hall County has been a community that’s always embraced me. It is home. And home is where you draw your strength to carry on. You never want to forget where you come from. It keeps you connected. It keeps you real.

“I’ve never wanted to have the title define me. I’ve always wanted to define the title as lieutenant governor.”

Cagle said education will remain his main focus during his next four years in office.

“We’ve moved the needle in a major way with our college and career academies across the state and our charter systems, as well,” he said. “I just believe that we can have an increasingly prosperous state.”

Times staff reporter Joshua Silavent contributed to this story.