Josh McLaurin knows better than anyone that, as a Democrat, he wouldn’t have much power leading the Republican-controlled Georgia Senate as lieutenant governor. But the state senator from Atlanta believes he can use the position to lead his party out of the wilderness post-Donald Trump.
While Trump gets less popular by the day, it’s not as if Democrats are doing much better. McLaurin noted a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that showed the party with a 35% approval rating. That’s because, in addition to about half the state being Republican, many Democrats don’t believe their leaders are fighting hard enough.
That Trump seems to “tell it like it is” is part of his appeal, and Democrats should take a page from his playbook, according to McLaurin. “We have to be transparent and authentic, but not be assholes,” he said at a meet-and-greet in Athens May 7, following his formal announcement in Savannah two days earlier.
Unlike the House of Representatives, where members of the majority party elect the speaker, the Senate is headed by a separately elected lieutenant governor, which in rare instances can lead to the lieutenant governor being from a different party than the majority of senators. If that were to happen in 2026, it’s likely Republicans would strip McLaurin of most of his power and hand it to the Senate president. But he said he’s built enough relationships across the aisle to make an impact, and he could also use the office as a bully pulpit.
Policies McLaurin said he supports include expanding Medicaid, restoring reproductive rights, “common sense” gun safety laws, reforming education funding and zoning reforms to make housing more affordable. He also spent much of his stump speech criticizing Trump’s tariffs, which he predicted would wreck the economy, and civil rights violations.
“You don’t have to be an immigrant or undocumented to feel this administration is coming for you, your family, your friends,” he said.
The meet-and-greet at Little Kings was attended by Mayor Kelly Girtz, commissioners Patrick Davenport, Melissa Link and Carol Myers, school board member Tim Denson, former congressman John Barrow and state Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens), who introduced McLaurin.
“He’s the kind of guy who does things for the right reason,” Frye told the crowd of about 50. “He’ll never write or vote for a piece of legislation that personally benefits him.”
That was a dig at Burt Jones, the current lieutenant governor, who supported a bill deregulating hospital construction so that one could be built on land owned by his father.
Jones is widely believed to be running for governor next year. McLaurin is the first candidate to announce their candidacy for lieutenant governor.
In other political news, term-limited incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp announced last week that he will pass on running against Sen. John Ossoff in 2026. In addition, Democrat Eric Gisler told Flagpole he will once again challenge state Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-Watkinsville) in House District 121, which includes parts of Clarke and Oconee counties.
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