Gary Richardson
Incumbent (since 2024) · former county commissionerGary L. Richardson is a Republican businessman and former Columbia County commissioner who has represented House District 125 (suburban Columbia County — Evans and Martinez, with part of McDuffie) since winning a March 2024 special-election runoff, then defeating Democrat Kay Turner that November. He served eight years on the Columbia County Board of Commissioners, elected vice-chair by his colleagues five times. In the House he is secretary of the Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee, vice chair of Public & Community Health, and sits on Transportation. He is seeking his first full term in 2026.
Previously held
- Georgia State Representative, District 125 (2024–present)
- Secretary, House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee
- Vice Chair, House Public & Community Health; member, Transportation
- Columbia County Commissioner, 8 years (5× vice-chair); local business owner
Top contributors
About $224,000 raised for 2026 — roughly 25× his challenger's haul — anchored by House Republican leadership and the business/PAC network: Speaker Jon Burns and his Friends of Jon Burns fund, former Appropriations chairman Matt Hatchett, tort-reform (Civil Justice) and Realtor PACs, police and telecom PACs, and local Evans donors including family.
- $5,000.00Matt Hatchett (Dublin, GA)
- $3,300.00Friends of Jon Burns (Springfield, GA)
- $3,300.00Competitive Ga Action, Inc. (Griffin, GA)
- $3,300.00Ginger Richardson (Evans, GA)
- $3,300.00Jon Burns (Roswell, GA)
- $3,000.00Civil Justice PAC, Inc. (Atlanta, GA)
- $1,000.00Southern States PBA PAC Fund (McDonough, GA)
- $1,000.00Sewell Construction Company (Evans, GA)
- $1,000.00Georgia Association of Realtors PAC (Atlanta, GA)
- $1,000.00AT&T Georgia/PAC (Atlanta, GA)
$224,347 raised · $62,456 cash on hand — as of Jun 10, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).
Source: Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile)Where they stand
Campaigns against what he calls “the radical left’s woke agenda that hurts our kids.” In the 2025 session he backed barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports and touts school-security funding and early-literacy investment.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesVice chair of the House Public & Community Health Committee. He emphasizes rural-provider access and has not embraced full Medicaid expansion, consistent with House Republican leadership.
Source: Georgia House — member pageNo specific statement or recorded vote on the minimum wage surfaced; as a fiscal conservative he frames relief as tax cuts — “returning your money” — rather than wage mandates.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesNo direct statement or legislation on homelessness surfaced; his stated priorities are tax relief, public safety, and small business.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesNo specific veterans-focused legislation surfaced in his short (2024–) record.
Source: Georgia House — member pageCampaigns on “making sure our state law enforcement works with the federal government” on deportation, aligning with the GOP caucus’s stricter-enforcement posture.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesA gun-rights supporter aligned with the Republican caucus; Georgia’s 2022 permitless-carry law predates his 2024 arrival, and he has not backed new gun restrictions.
Source: Gary Richardson — BallotpediaAnti-abortion, consistent with the GOP caucus; Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat” law (HB 481) predates his tenure and he has not moved to loosen it.
Source: Gary Richardson — BallotpediaIn 2025 he backed blocking gender-transition medical care for minors and barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports, framed as opposing the “woke” agenda.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesRuns explicitly against the “woke agenda,” consistent with GOP opposition to DEI programming; no standalone DEI bill authored.
Source: Gary Richardson campaign — IssuesNo clear statement or recorded vote specifically on marijuana or medical-cannabis policy surfaced.
Source: Georgia House — member pageNo specific statement by Richardson on data-center zoning or the utility-cost impact surfaced — a live issue in fast-growing Columbia County.
Source: Georgia House — member pagePPP loan
Forgiven $60,725 — Sparkle Express Car Wash — Grovetown LLC (Grovetown, GA), April 2020.
Richardson owns the Sparkle Express car-wash chain in Columbia County. Its Grovetown LLC took a $60,725 PPP loan, forgiven in July 2021; a separate Furys Ferry (Martinez) LLC also took a $51,920 loan.
Scandals
None documented.
Georgia House — official bio · Campaign site · Full legislator fact sheet
