Shaw Blackmon
House Ways & Means Chairman · running unopposedZell Shaw Blackmon III has represented Georgia House District 146 (part of Houston County — Warner Robins, Bonaire, Kathleen) since 2015. A University of Georgia graduate who works in business, he chairs the powerful House Ways & Means Committee — the chamber's tax-writing panel — and is a chief budget writer. He filed for re-election in 2026 and, after qualifying closed in March, drew no opponent, leaving him unopposed for a seventh term.
Previously held
- Chairman, House Ways & Means Committee (tax-writing committee)
- Georgia State Representative, District 146 (2015–present)
- Board, Technical College System of Georgia
- Board, Houston County Development Authority
Top contributors
The donor profile of a powerful tax-committee chairman: his top givers skew toward regulated and tax-sensitive industries — lobbying firms (Allegis/Redwood/Maxim Public Affairs), utility contractors (GUCA), data centers (T5), real estate (Realtors PAC), telecom (AT&T), and the business-coalition Competitive Georgia Action — alongside the House Speaker's orbit. His committee holds more than it has spent, with no race to spend it on.
- $6,600.00Allegis Redwood Maxim Public Affairs LLC (Hanover, MD)
- $5,000.00James Burchett for House (Millwood, GA)
- $4,000.00GUCA Political Action Committee (Forest Park, GA)
- $3,500.00T5 Data Centers, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
- $3,300.00Competitive Georgia Action INC (Griffin, GA)
- $3,300.00Georgia Association Of Realtors Political Action Committee (Atlanta, GA)
- $3,300.00Patriot Group Development, Inc. (Kathleen, GA)
- $3,300.00AT&T Georgia Political Action Committee (Atlanta, GA)
- $3,300.00Georgia Bankers Association Political Action Committee-State (Atlanta, GA)
- $3,300.00Friends Of Jon Burns (Roswell, GA)
$547,374 raised · $437,969 cash on hand — as of May 7, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).
Source: Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile)Where they stand
Emphasizes K-12 funding, technical-college transferability and dual enrollment, and as Ways & Means chair backed the GOP education agenda including 2024 school-choice/voucher legislation; lists “enhancing education” as a priority.
Source: Rep. Blackmon official bio (legis.ga.gov) · Campaign siteLike most House Republicans, has supported Gov. Kemp's limited “Pathways to Coverage” program over full Medicaid expansion, which the GOP majority has repeatedly declined to adopt; no personal statement endorsing full expansion was found.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Pathways extended through 2026No Blackmon statement or bill on the minimum wage was found; Georgia's statutory minimum remains $5.15 (the $7.25 federal floor applies in practice), and the Republican-led legislature, where he is a senior member, has not moved to raise it.
Source: Georgia Dept. of Labor — minimum wageNo specific position or vote by Blackmon on homelessness surfaced in public sources — reported honestly as no record found for this topic.
Representing the Robins Air Force Base community, he names “strengthening our defense community” a top priority and touts bringing investment to Houston County, including a veterans training-center project.
Source: Rep. Blackmon official bio (legis.ga.gov) · Campaign sitePart of the Republican House majority that passed HB 1105 (2024), a stricter immigration-enforcement / anti-“sanctuary” law requiring local cooperation with federal authorities, which cleared the House 99–75 largely on party lines; no dissent from his caucus was found.
Source: AJC — Georgia House passes immigration enforcement billNo individual Blackmon gun roll-call was located; he describes himself as a “fiscally conservative Republican” who protects “our freedoms,” consistent with the GOP majority that enacted Georgia's 2022 permitless (“constitutional”) carry law.
Source: Campaign siteVoted for HB 481, Georgia's 2019 “LIFE Act” banning most abortions after roughly six weeks; abortion-rights trackers classify him as anti-abortion based on that record.
Source: Georgia Choice Tracker — Shaw Blackmon · GPB — what HB 481 doesNo Blackmon-specific roll call on LGBTQ measures was located; he is part of the GOP majority that advanced restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors (SB 30 in 2025). Reported honestly: an individual vote was not confirmed.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Senate passes ban on puberty blockers for minorsNo Blackmon-specific DEI vote was located; he belongs to the GOP majority that passed legislation (HB 127, 2025) banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Georgia schools and colleges. An individual vote was not separately confirmed.
Source: Georgia Recorder — Senate passes DEI banNo Blackmon-specific cannabis roll call was isolated, though the House passed a medical-cannabis expansion (SB 220, 2026) on a lopsided 138–21 bipartisan vote; recreational marijuana remains illegal in Georgia.
Source: Georgia Recorder — House passes medical cannabis access billHis clearest individual record: Blackmon was the lead sponsor of HB 1192 (2024) to suspend Georgia's sales-tax exemption for data centers pending a study of their strain on the grid — calling it “an immense subsidy for an industry that takes up a tremendous amount of resources, power and water.” The House passed it 96–71; Gov. Kemp vetoed it.
Source: GPB — House passes bill suspending data-center tax exemption · Capitol Beat — data-center tax exemption suspensionScandals
None documented.
Georgia House — official bio · Campaign site · Full legislator fact sheet
