ATLANTA – State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, announced Monday that he will run for lieutenant governor next year, promising a campaign focused on fighting President Donald Trump’s agenda.
McLaurin, a lawyer, was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2018 before moving over to the state Senate in 2022. This year, he has railed on the Senate floor almost daily against Trump’s economic policies and defiance of the rule of law.
“One hundred days in, the Trump administration is tanking the economy and ignoring court orders,” McLaurin said. “But the Republicans running the state of Georgia are silent about Trump’s needless tariffs and his violations of Americans’ basic legal rights. Instead, Georgia Republicans spent the 2025 legislative session sucking up to Trump and trying to copy his destructive ‘DOGE’ approach to government.
“Georgia should be putting up every obstacle possible to Trump’s authoritarian agenda at the state level. And while we’re at it, the Georgia legislative should be passing widely popular policies that Republicans have been blocking for years: Medicaid expansion, restorative of reproductive freedom, common-sense gun safety legislation, and more.”
McLaurin scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference Monday at the Port of Savannah to announce his candidacy and highlight the expected impacts of Trump’s tariffs on supply chains.
He also released a list of endorsements he has received, including the names of seven state senators, 15 members of the Georgia House of Representatives, and several local elected officials.
McLaurin is the only Democratic candidate thus far to enter the race to succeed Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is widely expected to run for governor.