Who Is on the Georgia Ballot in the November 8 General Primary?
United States Senate
Herschel Walker Republican Raphael Warnock Democrat Chase Oliver — Libertarian Walker was born in Augusta, Georgia, and raised in Wrightsville, Georgia. He is a Hall of Fame professional football player who attended the University of Georgia, represented the U.S. in the 1992 Olympics, and owned two food-supply businesses. He was appointed to the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Warnock was born in Savannah, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a master’s degree in divinity, master’s degree in philosophy, and Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. Warnock’s career experience includes working as the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore, Maryland, and an assistant pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York. He served as the chairman of the board of directors of Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project.
Oliver was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His professional experience includes working in the import shipping business for a multinational liner service. He is affiliated with the Libertarian Party of Atlanta and Outright Libertarians.
Governor
Brian Kemp — Republican Stacey Abrams — Democrat Shane Hazel– Libertarian Kemp was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from Clark Central High School and received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Georgia. He owns Kemp Properties, a property management and real estate investment business and was a founding director of First Madison Bank and St. Mary’s Hospital Board. He served as Georgia’s 27th Secretary of State from 2010 to 2018 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007. While a senator, he served as Chair of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee, secretary of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Abrams was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. She graduated from Avondale High School. Abrams earned degrees from Spelman College, the University of Texas, and Yale University Law School. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 until 2017 and was minority leader from 2011 to 2017. Her career experience includes owning a business and working as a partner in Insomnia, LLC; the CEO of Sage Works, LLC; a deputy city attorney for the City of Atlanta; special counsel to Sutherland, Asbill, and Brennan; and a writer of romance novels.
Hazel was born in Alma, Michigan. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 to 2009. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 2006. His career experience includes working in business
development.
Lieutenant Governor
Burt Jones — Republican Charlie Bailey — Democrat Ryan Graham Independent Jones was born in Jackson, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Georgia. He works with his family’s business, Jones Petroleum. He also founded JP Capital & Insurance, Inc., a risk-management company specializing in retail insurance brokerage.
Bailey was born in Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 2005 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2010. His career experience includes working as an attorney with Cook & Connelly, LLC.
Graham was born in Athens, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Georgia State University in 2010. His career experience includes working as an IT project manager.
Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger Republican Bee Nguyen — Democrat Ted Metz — Independent Raffensperger was born in Jones Creek, Georgia. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Western University and his M.B.A. from Georgia State University. His professional experience includes owning and working as CEO of Tendon Systems, LLC, a contracting and engineering design firm. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 50.
Nguyen was born in Ames, Iowa. She grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and attended Georgia State University. She moved to Atlanta in 1999. She was previously the executive director of a nonprofit organization she founded, Athena Warehouse, a program to educate and empower girls in under-resourced communities. She is currently National Policy Advisor for New American Leaders.
Metz started life as the son of a U.S. Air Force pilot, living in 13 states by age 11. He attended the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. He has a background in consumer science and worked in the finance and insurance industry.
Attorney General
Chris Carr — Republican Jennifer “Jen” Jordan Democrat Martin Cowen Independent Carr was born in Michigan. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and Lumpkin School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Georgia. His career includes working as a private practice attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. He then served as Vice President and General Counsel for the Georgia Public Policy, served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Isakson and then as Chief of Staff until appointed Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development, and has served as Georgia’s Attorney General. He and his wife Joan have two daughters and live in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Jordan was born in Eastman, Georgia. She earned a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2001 and a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Georgia Southern University in 1997. Jordan’s career experience includes working as a partner at Shamp Jordan Woodward and principal at The Jordan Firm, LLC. She serves on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia. She was elected to the State Senate in 2017.
Cowen was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1972 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1975. Cowen’s professional experience includes practicing law since 1975. His organizational affiliations include the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia and the Board of Directors for Fellowship of Reason.
Commissioner of Agriculture
Tyler Harper — Republican Nakita Hemingway Democrat David Raudabaugh Independent Harper was born in Ocilla, Georgia. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia. His professional experience includes working as a small businessman and farmer. He is a member of the Georgia State Senate, representing District 7. He serves as Chair of the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee and Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee. He is also a member of the Appropriations Committee and Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee. Harper is a 7th generation South Georgia farmer who runs a peanut, cotton, beef cattle, and timber operation on the same land his family has farmed for over 125 years.
Hemingway was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Decatur, Georgia. She majored in Real Estate at Georgia State University, and later received a degree in Finance from American Intercontinental University. Hemingway ran her own travel agency for three years. Her family owns a cut-flower farm in Gwinnett County.
Raudabaugh is head of the Cannabis Hemp Education Research Company (CHERCO.org) and founder of multiple cannabis- focused companies, has an extensive background in the Security Industry, currently serves as the head of the Cannabis Hemp Education Research Company (CHERCO.org) working to bring education and research of the cannabis plant to the public. Raudabaugh has been a resident and business man of Marietta, Georgia, for nearly 30 years.
Commissioner of Insurance John King — Republican Janice Laws Robinson Democrat King was born in Mexico. He was appointed Insurance Commissioner in 2019. He leads the statewide office responsible for regulating the state’s insurance industry and oversees all Georgia fire safety initiatives. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and public administration from Brenau University and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He was a graduate of class #229 at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and a graduate of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange program to Israel (GILEE). In addition to his former roles in the Atlanta and Doraville Police Departments, he serves as a Major General in the U.S. Army National Guard assigned to NORAD and U.S. Northern Command and has deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Robinson was born in Jamaica and raised in New York City. She attended Monroe College in New York and studied business administration at the Shorter University College of Adult and Professional Studies. She has studied a number of professional and leadership methodologies throughout the United States. As the owner of J. Law & Associates, a small, specialized insurance firm, she holds professional licenses for Georgia’s Property & Casualty Insurance, as well as personal and health insurance.
State School Superintendent
Richard Woods Republican Alisha Thomas Searcy Democrat Woods grew up in a military family and graduated from Fitzgerald High School in South Georgia. He received a bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University and a master’s degree from Valdosta State University. He has over 29 years of pre-k through 12th grade experience in public education. He also brings a business background to the superintendent’s position, having been a lead purchasing agent for a national/multinational laser company and a former small business owner.
Searcy was born in Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and a graduate degree from Kennesaw State University. Her career experience includes working as an owner of an education consulting business, school board member coach and mentor, state legislator, and superintendent. Searcy has been affiliated with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Joseph E. Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights, the NAACP as a member, and Education in Equity as a founding board member. She was elected to six terms in the Georgia House of Representatives for Cobb County, served on the Education, Appropriations and Health & Human Services committees.
Commissioner of Labor
Bruce Thompson Republican William “Will” Boddie, Jr Democrat Emily Anderson Independent Thompson was born and raised on a farm in Montana, attended college on a wrestling scholarship, and spent six years in the U.S. Army National Guard as a tank commander. After the military, he became a serial entrepreneur, building numerous businesses from scratch, including two automatic pool cover businesses, an insurance agency that grew to six offices, and now several software companies. Since 2013, he has served his community as a state senator, previously chairing the Veterans Affairs Committee, and currently chairing the Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
Boddie, Jr., is an Atlanta native and an East Point resident. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, a lifelong member of Antioch Baptist Church, North in Atlanta, and a graduate of the Mercer University- Walter F. George School of Law. Representative Boddie was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in November 2016 and elected to serve as the second-ranking Democrat in the Georgia House in 2018.
Anderson: no information available.
United States House of Representatives – District 12 Rick W. Allen — Republican Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Johnson Democrat Allen was born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1951. He attended Auburn University in Alabama, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in building construction. He worked as an estimator, project administrator and assistant to the president with a construction firm in Augusta. In 1976, he founded his own construction business, R. W. Allen & Associates, Inc. In 2008, Allen was presented with the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Person of the Year award. A member of the U.S. House, representing Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, he was assigned to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Johnson has been a Bulloch County resident for the past 26 years. She worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years. Organizations include Statesboro Regional Library Board, C.A.S.A. Board (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children), Statesboro Noon Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and a school board zoning task force.
State Senate – District 19 Blake Tillery — Republican Michael “Buckle” Moore — Democrat Tillery lives in Vidalia, Georgia. He earned his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the University of Georgia and his Juris Doctor at the University of Georgia School of Law in 2010. He is the managing partner at Smith and Tillery, P.C., and previously co-chaired the Leadership Toombs-Montgomery program. He has also served as Chair of the Toombs County Commission, the Heart of Georgia Workforce Investment Board, and the Toombs County Boys and Girls Club Board. He was elected to represent Georgia’s 19th District in 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as Vice Chair of the Government Oversight Committee, Vice Chair of the State Institutions and Property Committee, and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee.
Moore: no information available.
State House of Representatives – District 156 Leesa Hagan — Republican Lethia J. Kittrell Democrat Hagan was born in Decatur, Georgia, and now lives in Lyons. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Georgia in 1995. Her career experience includes 13 years of teaching and owning a business. She was elected to represent this seat in a special election on July 13, 2021. As a member of the State House, she was appointed to the following committees: Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Small Business Development, and Joint Georgia Music Heritage Study.
Kittrell was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University in 1983. Her career experience includes working in nonprofit management, business and program management, grant writing, research marketing and development, and Christian ministry.
