by Mark Niesse | Jan 21, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A Democrat received the most votes in a special election for an open Middle Georgia state Senate seat on Tuesday but failed to avoid a runoff as five other candidates split the Republican vote.
LeMario Brown, a Democrat and former Fort Valley councilman, advanced to the runoff against Steven McNeel, a Republican and trial attorney, according to unofficial results.
They’re running to replace former state Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Republican who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.
The Feb. 17 runoff, required in Georgia because no candidate won a majority of votes, will fill one of four vacant seats in the General Assembly, which began its annual legislative session last week.
Brown was the only Democrat in the race for Senate District 18, which includes Crawford, Monroe, Peach and Upson counties along with parts of Bibb and Houston counties. He gained 37% of the vote while the remaining 63% was divided among the five Republican competitors.
“LeMario’s performance is yet another testament to the momentum that Democrats are building as working Georgians across the state grow tired of 22 years of failed Republican leadership,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey.
Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon said Democrats failed to make significant gains in the Republican-leaning district.
“Democrats threw everything they had at this race — pouring in money from California and New York and even calling in national figures like Sen. Mark Kelly — but in the end, they still couldn’t close the deal,” McKoon said. “Republicans stepped up, overcame the noise, and now we’re heading into the runoff ready for the final round.”
Special elections will also be held to fill other vacant seats in the General Assembly.
Former state Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, resigned days before she was charged with fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, former state Rep. Lynn Heffner, D-Augusta, moved out of her district after her home was damaged by Hurricane Helene, and former Republican Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, stepped down last week to run for Congress.
Special elections for the state House seats are scheduled for March 10. An election date for the state Senate seat hasn’t yet been set.
by Mark Niesse | Jan 20, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia Democrats blamed Republican U.S. Senate candidates for the expiration of Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies Tuesday, an opening 2026 salvo in the critical Senate race.
The Democratic attack targeted the three Republicans in the race — U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley — for opposing bills that would have renewed the subsidies and held down insurance prices. They’re trying to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in this fall’s election.
Republicans said the health subsidies are an expensive cost to taxpayers that support a broken health care system.
Georgia House Minority Whip Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, said the elimination of subsidies priced many families out of health insurance coverage. Enrollment in Georgia’s health exchange declined by more than 190,000 this year, according to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
“Republicans like Buddy Carter and Mike Collins voted to end the tax credits that made health care coverage affordable, and every single day they fail to restore those credits, more Georgians are losing access to life saving health care because they can’t afford it,” said Park during a press conference at the state Democratic Party headquarters.
Average monthly premium costs rose $862, to a total of $1,307, in Georgia for a 60-year-old with a $62,800 income on a benchmark plan, according to the health research organization KFF.
Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said Democrats approved temporary health insurance subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic without a long-term plan.
“The subsidies are financially unsustainable and point to how broken Obamacare has been from the beginning,” McKoon said. “President Trump and Republicans have offered sustainable solutions to increase access and affordability for all Americans, but Democrats would rather play politics.”
The Democrats’ attack accompanied billboards purchased by the Democratic Party of Georgia highlighting votes by Carter and Collins against extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. The billboards also cite Dooley’s opposition to the subsidies.
Nora Pullen, a small business owner featured at the Democrats’ press conference, said the cost of her health plan would have nearly tripled. Instead of paying extra, she decided to invest in her business rather than paying so much more for health insurance.
“I realize I rolled the dice. My family realizes that. But what choice do most people have? We’re middle class,” said Pullen, who lives in Fayetteville and runs a wellness facility. “I truly hope that we can vote for people who have our interests.”
Georgia voters will decide on the Republican candidate during the primary election May 19. The winner will face Ossoff during the general election Nov. 3.
by Mark Niesse | Jan 20, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A proposed amendment to the Georgia Constitution would end sales taxes on timber, a major industry battered by mill closings and storms.
House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration said a bipartisan group of legislators want to help protect “a cornerstone of the state’s rural economy.”
“The timber tax cut is necessary because Georgia timber farmers are facing severe economic hardship following the closure of multiple sawmills in Georgia and significant losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” said Efstration, R-Mulberry, the sponsor of House Resolution 1000. “Georgia is a national leader in forestry, and I want to help this state’s rural economy and the livelihood of many Georgians.”
Georgia’s forestry industry was the largest in the nation in 2021 based on harvest volume and product export values of nearly $4 billion, according to a report by the Georgia Forestry Association.
But timber producers have suffered in recent years.
International Paper closed two pulp and paper mills in Savannah and Riceboro last year, soon after Georgia-Pacific shuttered a countainerboard mill in Cedar Springs.
Hurricane Helene damaged about 1.5 million acres of forested land in 2024, with a $1.28 billion impact to the industry, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
The timber tax elimination would cost the state government up to $18 million a year, Efstration said. The state government would compensate counties, municipalities and school districts for some or all of the loss of local tax revenue.
“In heavy-timber counties, that’s their major industry. They certainly don’t want their industry to go out of business,” said Clint Mueller, deputy director for Association County Commissions of Georgia, which advocates on behalf of county governments and hasn’t yet taken a position on HR 1000. “If the state fully pays for this, I don’t know why our members would be opposed to it.”
If approved by two-thirds of the state House and Senate, the constitutional amendment would be on voters’ ballots in November.
The timber industry could also receive additional support from state lawmakers this year.
Gov. Brian Kemp is seeking $14 million in his proposed budget, primarily to support adoption of technology that uses wood products in the auto industry and in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
by Mark Niesse | Jan 16, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Tax increases on Georgia homeowners could be limited to the inflation rate — including taxes for education after most school systems decided against capping property tax hikes last year.
The state Senate’s Republican majority introduced a bill this week that would require all school systems to limit property tax increases that occur because of rising home values.
About 71% of Georgia’s 180 school systems voted last year to reject the cap, as allowed by state law. This year’s bill would change that law and prevent school systems from opting out of the cap.
If approved, the legislation would save homeowners money — and reduce funding for public education in some areas. School systems would lose the ability to tax property on values that rose higher than the inflation rate in the previous year.
“The majority of people in Georgia aren’t seeing the relief that was promised because they’re continuing to see double-digit tax increases,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 382. “People have seen huge property tax increases, and we need to limit it to the rate of inflation. We all need to live within our means.”
While no one likes paying higher taxes, schools would pay the price, said John Zauner, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association.
Education expenses would continue to rise with inflation, but school systems would receive less money from property taxes.
“I’m sympathetic. I pay taxes and they’re always going up,” Zauner said. “But that’s the only choice local districts have. They don’t have any other options.”
Under a state law and constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2024, home property assessments are capped at the inflation rate for the previous year. By holding down increases in property values, property tax hikes are also limited because they’re based on the assessed value of a home and the property tax rate.
Besides school systems, the proposed bill would also affect city and county governments that also opted out of the tax cap. About 29% of city and county governments voted against capping their property tax values last year, according to records from the secretary of state’s office.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said the property tax bill is a priority for this year’s legislative session.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to keep costs low and put more money back in Georgians’ pockets, this legislation will limit increases in home values for property taxes year to year and require more accountability and transparency in our local taxation procedures,” Jones said.
The property tax limit is one of several tax proposals being debated at the Capitol.
Senate Republicans also want to gradually eliminate income taxes, while House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, suggested he favors ending homestead property taxes.
Gov. Brian Kemp said in his State of the State Address on Thursday he wants to give tax rebates averaging $250 per taxpayer, as well as reducing the state income tax rate by one-fifth of a percentage point, to 4.99%.
by Mark Niesse | Jan 14, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Several Georgia Republican senators introduced a resolution Tuesday demanding that Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger comply with the Trump administration’s pursuit of the state’s unredacted voter registration list.
Raffensperger objected to the effort, saying state law prevents sharing voters’ private information such as full Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers.
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested voter lists from all 50 states in recent months, saying it wants to ensure accurate registration information. The DOJ sued Georgia for the statewide voter list last month.
The Senate resolution comes from allies of Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running for governor against Raffensperger. The resolution is largely symbolic and doesn’t carry the force of a law.
It accuses Raffensperger of “willful and persistent obstruction” after his office provided a public version of Georgia’s voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice
“All I’m asking from our duly elected secretary of state is to participate in any legally established investigation, like any other citizen would be required to do,” said state Sen. Randy Robertson, a Republican from Cataula and the sponsor of Senate Resolution 563. “The Department of Justice is the highest-ranking law enforcement agency in the United States, and they absolutely have the right to investigate when they choose.”
Raffensperger’s office said it has already complied with the DOJ’s request “to the fullest extent of state law,” citing concerns that private voter information could be shared by the DOJ with outside parties.
“Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger swore an oath to uphold the law and act in the best interests of hardworking Georgians. He will not break the law, compromise private information, or risk identity theft for millions of voters,” said a statement from the secretary of state’s office.
Besides Georgia, the Department of Justice has also sued several Democrat-run states that have refused to comply with the DOJ’s request for voter records. Republican-controlled states such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee have agreed to provide full voter registration lists.
The DOJ’s lawsuit against Georgia is scheduled for a hearing in federal court in Macon later this month.
