SAVANNAH, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - State Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) announced Monday he will be running for lieutenant governor.

In a statement, McLaurin said recent “silence” by Republicans in the state during President Donald Trump’s second term in office is one of the reasons he’s running for the seat.

“100 days in, the Trump administration is tanking the economy and ignoring court orders. But the Republicans running the State of Georgia are silent about Trump’s needless tariffs and his violations of Americans’ basic legal rights,” McLaurin said. “Instead, Georgia Republicans spent the 2025 legislative session sucking up to Trump and trying to copy his destructive ‘DOGE’ approach to government.”

McLaurin is the first Democrat to announce a candidacy for lieutenant governor; incumbent Republican Burt Jones, who was elected in 2024, is widely expected to launch a campaign for governor.

Having already been elected to two terms, Gov. Brian Kemp is constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third term, meaning Georgia’s governor’s race is wide open in 2026.

So far, only Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, has officially entered the race, with Jones and also GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rumored to be considering the race.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, is the only announced gubernatorial candidate.

Former one-term Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is also mulling an entry into the nationally watched race, as is former state lawmaker and DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond.

McLaurin, an attorney and four-term member of the Georgia General Assembly, said he wants the state to be an example of how to live in the United States of America.

“Georgia is my home and my heart. We’ve got amazing people and culture. We’ve got Waffle House. We could be a national example of how best to live, work, and raise a family,” McLaurin said.

The University of Georgia graduate said he wants to be “a voice” for those taken aback by the Trump administration’s agenda at the state level and looks to pass policies that have been up for debate for a long time.

“Georgia should be putting up every obstacle possible to Trump’s authoritarian agenda at the state level,” he said. “And while we’re at it, the Georgia legislature should be passing widely popular policies that Republicans have been blocking for years: Medicaid expansion, restoration of reproductive freedom, common sense gun safety legislation, and more.”

McLaurin plans to be at the Savannah ports around 3 p.m. to launch his campaign, according to his team. His office said recent tariffs imposed by the president have caused “dramatic economic uncertainty, and Georgia ports are widely expected to experience supply chain issues.”

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