Republicans Bill Cowsert, who represents Oconee County in the Georgia Senate, and Houston Gaines, who represents one of the county’s four precincts in the Georgia House, have amassed large campaign caches that they won’t be able to use in the 2026 elections.
Cowsert had $332,226 net cash on hand in his Senate District 46 campaign fund, according to his most recent Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report for June 30.
Cowsert has announced that he intends to run for state Attorney General, and he reported another $515,273 in that account in a separate Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report for June 30 for that office.
State law dictates that monies raised can only be used for the elective office for which the contributions were received.
Gaines, on June 30, had $908,541 in his campaign account for his District 120 House seat.
Gaines announced on Thursday (July 31) that he plans to run for Congress in District 10, and, on Friday, he reported that he raised more than $510,000 that first day.
Republican Marcus Wiedower, who represents the remaining three precincts of Oconee County in House District 121, did not file the required Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report for June 30, according to the Georgia Campaign Finance System, but he had $432,889 net balance on hand when he filed his latest report on Feb. 8.
Republican Advantage
Democrats Andrew Ferguson, who ran in House District 120 last year, and Eric Gisler, who ran in House District 121, both filed Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports for June 30.
Ferguson said in a text message late on Friday (Aug. 1), that he does not intend to run for House District 120 in 2026.
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| Gaines Before Oconee County GOP 5/19/2025 |
Gisler confirmed in an email message on Friday that he does intend to run again in 2026.
Neither Ferguson nor Gisler reported raising any money in the Feb. 1 to June 30 reporting period, but Ferguson reported spending all of the $22,613 he had on hand on Feb. 1.
Ferguson spent $39 on buttons and campaign materials and $4,710 as a donation to Project 2030, launched in 2023 by Ferguson and Gisler to support Democratic candidates to help the party take control of the Georgia House.
Gisler reported having $5,056 net balance on hand on June 30.
Gareth Fenley, who ran as a Democrat against Cowsert in 2024, has not filed a Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report since Oct. 16 of last year.
The deadline for filing the June 30 report was July 1, and candidates are given a seven-day extension to list their campaign contributions and spending.
Ferguson and Gisler filed on June 29 and 30 respectively, and Cowsert and Gaines filed their reports on July 8.
Wiedower has been fined twice in 2021 and once in 2022 for late filing, but, according to the Campaign Finance System, those fines of $125 each were waived.
Election Calendar
Qualifying dates for the 2026 General Primary Election/Nonpartisan Election on May 19 are March 2 to March 6.
Cowsert’s campaign report for that office reflect his decision to begin accepting campaign funds for that race.
Similarly, Gaines on July 31 registered with the Federal Election Commission and filed the Gaines for Congress Committee.
As of Friday evening, the federal site reported that it did not yet have reports of campaign contributions for Gaines.
Candidates are required to file their reports quarterly.
Gaines, in an email message on late Friday morning, said he plans to serve in the House even as the campaign heats up running up to the May 19 Primary. At present, Gaines is the only announced candidate for the party nomination.
“We've still got a lot of work left to do in the next year and a half,” Gaines wrote, “and I plan to finish the job I was elected to do. Just as I've done for the last seven years, I'll continue to deliver for our community.”
Cowsert’s Reports
Going back to 2021, Cowsert’s contributors for his Senate races have been spread across the state and nation, based on the Georgia Campaign Finance System database.
The list of contributors includes 400 entries, with 290 of them providing addresses.
Of those 290 contributors, 180 are from Georgia, and only six of those have Athens or Watkinsville addresses. Eighty-seven are from Atlanta.
The 46th Senate District as presently configured includes all of Oconee and parts of Clarke, Barrow, Gwinnett and Walton counties.
Cowert’s Attorney General report lists 162 contributors, 154 of whom included addresses.
Of the 154 contributors, 142 are from Georgia, with 38 having an Athens address and five with a Watkinsville address. One had a Statham address.
Among those who have given $8,400 are Kelly Mahoney, Oconee County resident and developer of Athens Ridge and the Falls commercial complex, and Hillpointe, of which Mahoney is co-founder and managing partner.
Wiedower is Vice President of External Affairs for Hillpointe.
Gaines’s Report
The Georgia Campaign Finance System database for Gaines lists 1,594 contributors to Gaines going back to April of 2022, with 1,337 provided addresses.
Of those 1,337 contributors, 1,146 were from Georgia, with 505 of those from Athens, seven from Bishop, 40 from Bogart, 26 from Statham, and 102 from Watkinsville.
The 120th House District that Gaines represents includes parts of Clarke, Jackson, and Barrow counties in addition to the Northeast Precinct (formerly Bogart and Marswood Hall) in Oconee County.
Gaines added only $18,295 in contributions during the Feb. 1 to June 30 time period. Legislators are not allowed to take campaign contributors during the legislative session, which ran from early January to early April. (Cowsert added $21,800 during that period.)
Among Gaines’s largest contributors were Mahoney, with $6,600, KM Holdings (with the same address as Mahoney) at $3,300, and, QuikTrip of Tulsa, with $6,600.
Gaines is Majority Caucus Vice-Chairman, and, going into the legislative session in January, the only other member of the Republic House Party leadership with more cash on hand than Gaines was Speaker Jon Burns.
http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2025/02/campaign-finance-reports-document-power.html
Based on the June 30 filing, Burns had $1,017,456 net balance on hand, compared to the $908,541 that Gaines reported.
(Note: This story has been updated at 8 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 2) to reflect the text message received from Ferguson.)
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