Ups, Downs and In-betweens
Open Seats: Georgia’s U.S. House delegation will have at least four new faces this year. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-11) is the latest incumbent to announce he won’t seek reelection this fall. He joins Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from her Northwest Georgia (District 14) seat in January, and Reps. Mike Collins (R-10) and Buddy Carter (R-1), who are running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jon Ossoff.
A special election March 10 determines which of 18 candidates will fill Greene’s unexpired term – or advance to a runoff, if needed. Whoever wins the seat will have to run again in November. Each party will choose its candidate for the remaining three seats in the May 19 primary.
More PSC Changes?: Former Public Service Commissioner Fitz Johnson, a Republican who lost his seat on the commission to Democrat Peter Hubbard in 2025, is running to reclaim the seat. Due to a lawsuit that delayed elections for the PSC for several years, Hubbard is serving a one-year term and is running for re-election this year. Whoever wins will serve a full six-year term representing District 3, which covers Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. Hubbard was one of two Democrats to unseat an incumbent Republican member of the commission last year. Another seat will be open in November as Republican Tricia Pridemore (District 5) will not seek re-election, giving Democrats a chance to gain the majority. Pridemore said she may run for Loudermilk’s U.S. House seat.
Big No on Sapelo: Residents of Hogg Hummock (also known as Hog Hammock), a tiny community that is one of the last Gullah-Geechee communities in Georgia, won a big victory at the ballot box in January. McIntosh County voters overwhelmingly repealed a zoning amendment that would have doubled the size of houses allowed on the island, from 1,400 square feet to 3,000. The vote was 85% in favor of repeal.
Hogg Hummock residents, who are descendants of formerly enslaved people, feared larger houses would increase property taxes and force out Black landowners whose ancestors have lived there for generations. County commissioners and Hogg Hummock landowners have been at odds for years. After the commission passed the amendment in 2024, residents gathered enough signatures for the referendum to be on the ballot. The county challenged the referendum, but the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that the vote could go ahead. After the vote, the commission paused all building on the island for 30 days and The Current reported that a majority of commissioners “said they got the message loud and clear.”
Photo credit: Michal Jeník
Library Liability: Libraries and librarians have been exempt from Georgia’s obscenity law, passed in 1984. But now a controversial bill to revoke that exemption is moving quickly through the legislature. The decades-old law makes it a crime to sell or give to anyone under 18 material “harmful to minors,” defined as a description or narrative account of any form of nudity, sexual conduct, sadomasochistic abuse or sexual excitement.
The new bill, SB 74, would make “a knowing violation” by a librarian subject to a $5,000 fine and up to 12 months in jail. Librarians and civil rights organizations strongly oppose the bill, which they say targets LGBTQ-related content and will force librarians to self-censor to avoid potential penalties. House Speaker Jon Burns argues the bill would not affect librarians who act in good faith but would require libraries to house the material in the adult section. The Senate already passed a similar bill last year.
New to the Race: If you thought the governor’s race was crowded already, move over. Billionaire Rick Jackson surprised even Republican insiders when he announced his candidacy in February. Jackson is the founder of Jackson Healthcare in Atlanta; according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he plans to put at least $50 million of his own money into his campaign. Jackson, who spent time in foster care as a teen, is running as a pro-Trump outsider. A long-time Republican donor, he has never held elected office before. 
Gov. Brian Kemp. Photo credit: contributed
Investing in DREAMS: In his State of the State address, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed an investment of $325 million in the DREAMS scholarship program. The program provides need-based financial aid of up to $3,000 a year to students at public colleges and universities in Georgia. Kemp called the funding “a one-time endowment” that would create opportunities for generational economic advancement and help students avoid debts from student loans. The state legislature must approve the funding, which has bipartisan support.
Last year, a bipartisan Senate committee called for changes to the state’s policies including creating a needs-based financial aid program, saying that without it, Georgia employers were likely to be unable to find the skilled workers they need. The HOPE scholarship, which covers tuition and fees, is merit-based, but Georgia has lacked a financial aid option for students whose grades or test scores don’t qualify for HOPE.
