It was the busiest mid-November day in recent memory at the State Capitol Tuesday, as the special legislative session kicked off and a protest over vote-counting resulted in 17 arrests – including that of state Senator Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta).
More under the radar but of no less importance were the leadership elections for the caucuses of both parties in the House and Senate, with several voids to be filled.
For House Republicans the process was rather straightforward, with just two vacant spots left by former Majority Whip Christian Coomer, appointed to the State Court of Appeals, and Sam Teasley, the Vice Chairman of the Caucus, who narrowly lost his re-election bid to Democrat Mary Frances Williams last week. As was rumored heading into the day, Rep. Trey Kelley of Cedartown will succeed Coomer as Majority Whip, and Douglasville Rep. Micah Gravely will become the new Vice Chairman.
The rest of the caucus’ leadership remains intact – with State Rep. Jon Burns (R-Newington) as House Majority Leader, Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) as House Majority Caucus Chairman, and Rep. Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe) as House Majority Caucus Secretary and Treasurer. The Majority Caucus also put forward House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) and House Speaker Pro-Tempore Jan Jones (R-Milton) as the nominees for their current positions.
Meanwhile in the Senate we saw a pair of successful leadership challenges; Sen. Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) defeated Majority Leader Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) (who is maybe not-so-coincidentally Governor-elect Brian Kemp’s brother in law), while Sen. Larry Walker (R-Perry) will replace Lindsey Tippens (R-Marietta) as Caucus Vice Chairman. The rest of the Senate Majority Caucus will remain the same, as seen below.
- Butch Miller (R – Gainesville) as the caucus nominee for Senate President Pro Tempore.
- Steve Gooch (R – Dahlonega) as Majority Caucus Whip.
- John Kennedy (R – Macon) as Majority Caucus Chair.
- John Wilkinson (R – Toccoa) as Majority Caucus Secretary.
The Democratic Caucuses have not yet held their leadership votes, but are expected to do so later this week.
