Bentley Hudgins
Democratic nominee · organizer, ex-HRC Georgia directorBentley Hudgins is a Democrat, longtime Georgia organizer, and — until taking leave to run — the Human Rights Campaign's Georgia State Director. A Mercer University graduate (philosophy, with a bioethics focus), they have organized with the ACLU of Georgia, the Georgia AFL-CIO, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, and the New Georgia Project — registering thousands of voters and helping more than 20,000 Georgians get COVID vaccines. Hudgins won the May 2026 Democratic primary outright with 66% for this open, heavily Democratic intown seat (Rep. Saira Draper vacated it to run for the state Senate). If elected, Hudgins would be the first openly non-binary and first Japanese-American member of the Georgia legislature.
Previously held
- Georgia State Director, Human Rights Campaign (on leave for the campaign)
- Organizer — ACLU of Georgia, Georgia AFL-CIO, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, New Georgia Project
- Mercer University — B.A., Philosophy (bioethics)
Top contributors
About $68,000 raised — roughly 40× the Republican nominee's haul. A grassroots, movement-backed campaign that pledges to take no corporate PAC money: support from national youth-and-Democratic groups like David Hogg's Leaders We Deserve, plus local Atlanta and Decatur donors.
- $3,310.00Robert Bradford (Decatur, GA)
- $3,300.00Leaders We Deserve — Georgia (Washington, DC)
- $3,300.00Mina Turabi (GA)
- $3,300.00Horizon Strategies (GA)
- $3,125.00Royce Mann (Atlanta, GA)
- $3,000.00Argosy (Atlanta, GA)
- $2,000.00Ronaldo Amador (Atlanta, GA)
- $1,600.00Linda Fung (Atlanta, GA)
$67,562 raised · $29,874 cash on hand — as of May 15, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).
Source: Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile)Where they stand
The campaign centered cost-of-living and civil rights; a former Georgia Budget & Policy Institute organizer, Hudgins backs fully funding public schools, though education was not a headline issue.
Source: Bentley Hudgins — campaignBacks full Medicaid expansion — calling it “long-overdue” and needed to cover the 350,000–500,000 uninsured Georgians in the coverage gap.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&AA union member and former Georgia AFL-CIO organizer who runs on lowering the cost of living for working families and supports raising wages; no specific figure was stated.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&AHousing is a signature issue: would bar corporate investors from buying up single-family homes, end Georgia's ban on local rent regulation, and enact a statewide Tenant Bill of Rights.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&ANo specific statement on veterans' affairs surfaced in the campaign's available materials.
Source: Bentley Hudgins — campaignA former ACLU of Georgia organizer; no specific state-level immigration position was detailed in the voter guide.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&AA progressive Democrat who campaigns on community safety; no standalone gun-policy statement surfaced in available coverage.
Source: Bentley Hudgins — campaignA civil-rights-focused Democrat aligned with the party's support for abortion rights and bodily autonomy; no standalone statement appeared in the guide.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&AA career LGBTQ+ advocate — as HRC's Georgia State Director, Hudgins helped defeat dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills (15 in the last session alone) and is HRC PAC-endorsed. Would be the first openly non-binary member of the Georgia legislature.
Source: Human Rights Campaign — endorsementA longtime civil-rights and voting-rights organizer who champions diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Source: Bentley Hudgins — BallotpediaNo specific statement on marijuana policy surfaced in available coverage.
Source: Bentley Hudgins — campaignCalls for a moratorium on new data centers, an end to their tax breaks, and holding them accountable for the power-cost increases they push onto ratepayers.
Source: Decaturish — HD-90 Q&AScandals
None documented.