# Georgia State House — District 125 — 2026 Candidates — The GA Files > Where the 2026 candidates for Georgia State House — District 125 stand — bio, prior offices, top donors, positions on DEI, LGBTQ+, abortion, and data centers, plus any scandals. Sourced. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/candidates/house-district-125.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- [← 2026 Candidates](https://thegafiles.com/candidates.html) # Georgia State House — District 125 R ### Gary Richardson Incumbent (since 2024) · former county commissioner Gary 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. - $5,000.00 — Matt Hatchett (Dublin, GA) - $3,300.00 — Friends of Jon Burns (Springfield, GA) - $3,300.00 — Competitive Ga Action, Inc. (Griffin, GA) - $3,300.00 — Ginger Richardson (Evans, GA) - $3,300.00 — Jon Burns (Roswell, GA) - $3,000.00 — Civil Justice PAC, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) - $1,000.00 — Southern States PBA PAC Fund (McDonough, GA) - $1,000.00 — Sewell Construction Company (Evans, GA) - $1,000.00 — Georgia Association of Realtors PAC (Atlanta, GA) - $1,000.00 — AT&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)](https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov) #### Where they stand Education 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 — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) Healthcare Vice 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 page](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/house/5063) Minimum Wage No 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 — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) Homelessness No direct statement or legislation on homelessness surfaced; his stated priorities are tax relief, public safety, and small business. Source: [Gary Richardson campaign — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) Veterans Affairs No specific veterans-focused legislation surfaced in his short (2024–) record. Source: [Georgia House — member page](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/house/5063) Immigration Campaigns 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 — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) Gun Control A 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 — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Gary_Richardson_(Georgia)) Abortion Anti-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 — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Gary_Richardson_(Georgia)) LGBTQ+ In 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 — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) DEI Runs explicitly against the “woke agenda,” consistent with GOP opposition to DEI programming; no standalone DEI bill authored. Source: [Gary Richardson campaign — Issues](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) Marijuana No clear statement or recorded vote specifically on marijuana or medical-cannabis policy surfaced. Source: [Georgia House — member page](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/house/5063) Data centers No 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 page](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/house/5063) #### PPP 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. Sources - [ProPublica — Tracking PPP](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/) - [FederalPay — SBA PPP data (Furys Ferry loan)](https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/sparkle-express-car-wash-furys-ferry-llc-martinez-ga) #### Scandals None documented. [Georgia House — official bio](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/house/5063) · [Campaign site](https://www.garyfordistrict125.com/) · [Full legislator fact sheet](https://thegafiles.com/GaryRichardson.html) D ### Leonard Hennessy Challenger · former U.S. Navy commander Leonard “Len” Hennessy is a Democrat, former U.S. Navy commander, and small-business owner from Evans running for House District 125 on a “service before politics” message. He centers his campaign on cost-of-living relief for working families, closing Georgia’s Medicaid coverage gap, strengthening rural schools and healthcare, restoring veterans’ services, and “responsible” industrial development that protects the district’s land and water. It is his first run for the seat, challenging two-year Republican incumbent Gary Richardson. #### Previously held - Former U.S. Navy commander - Small-business owner (Evans, GA) #### Top contributors A grassroots, labor-and-party-backed haul of about $8,900 — roughly one-25th of the incumbent’s: led by a $3,300 individual gift, the Democrat-aligned Fighting Fifty PAC, IBEW electrical-workers Local 1579, the Democratic Party of Georgia, and the Columbia County Democrats, plus small in-district and out-of-state donors. - $3,300.00 — Ryan Zadina (Evans, GA) - $1,609.04 — Fighting Fifty PAC (Decatur, GA) - $1,000.00 — Tim Keller (Tyler, TX) - $989.63 — Leonard W. Hennessy III (Evans, GA) - $500.00 — IBEW Local 1579 (Augusta, GA) - $500.00 — Democratic Party of Georgia (Atlanta, GA) - $400.00 — Karen Phelps (Martinez, GA) - $250.00 — Megan Hull (Oakland, CA) - $200.00 — Columbia County Democrats Exec. Committee (Evans, GA) - $100.00 — Robert Bridges (Henrico, VA) **$8,930** raised · **$6,641** cash on hand — as of **Jun 10, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: [Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile)](https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov) #### Where they stand Education Backs rural public schools and guaranteed access to special-education programs as part of his rural-services platform. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Healthcare Campaigns to close Georgia’s Medicaid coverage gap, expand assistance for children with special needs, and strengthen rural healthcare infrastructure. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Minimum Wage Argues “anyone who works full-time should be able to meet their family’s basic needs,” and supports tax relief for essential workers, retirees, and teachers plus strengthening SNAP — though he names no specific wage figure. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Homelessness Frames cost-of-living and housing strain as central (noting 45% of Georgians struggle to cover basics) but does not detail a specific homelessness program. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Veterans Affairs A former U.S. Navy commander; campaigns on “restoring access to critical services for veterans.” Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Immigration No specific position on immigration surfaced in his campaign materials. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Gun Control No specific gun-policy position surfaced in his campaign materials. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Abortion No specific position on abortion surfaced in his campaign materials. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) LGBTQ+ No specific position on LGBTQ+ issues surfaced in his campaign materials. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) DEI Emphasizes “service before politics” and common-sense leadership; no specific DEI-policy position surfaced. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Marijuana No specific position on marijuana policy surfaced in his campaign materials. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) Data centers Welcomes new industry but insists it “invest responsibly” to relieve strain on rural infrastructure and protect land, water, and farmland — a stewardship framing that bears on data-center-scale development. Source: [Hennessy for GA-125 — Issues](https://electlen.com/) #### Scandals None documented. [Campaign site](https://electlen.com/) [⬇ Share image](https://thegafiles.com/share/candidates/house-district-125.png) [⬇ Download for offline](https://thegafiles.com/candidates/house-district-125.offline.html) Every entry is drawn from published reporting, official records, or the candidate's own statements, with sources on each item. Policy summaries are condensed from that reporting and reflect the candidate's stated positions; where a matter is an allegation or unresolved, that is noted, and inclusion is not a finding of guilt. Contributor figures are early/partial where the official itemized filings (Georgia Ethics Commission) are still being compiled. Corrections welcome via the contact link in the footer. Last updated 2026-06-17.