A candidate forum for the contested state Senate District 46 and House District 120 races in the May 19 Party Primaries is scheduled for 5:30 to 8 p.m. on April 21 at the Community Center, Oconee Veterans Park, 3500 Hog Mountain Road, west of Butler’s Crossing.
Voters will have the opportunity to pose questions in one session to Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for Senate District 46 and in a separate session to the Democrats seeking the party nomination for Senate District 46.
All of Oconee County falls into Senate District 46.
In a third session, voters will be able to ask questions of the candidates seeking the Republican Party nomination for House District 120, which includes the Northeast Precinct of Oconee County.
Michael Broun and Doug McKillip have committed to attend the Senate District Republican Party session. Marc McMain has said he has a commitment that will keep him from attending. He has been invited to send a representative.
Michael Gaulden and Ray Smith, the two Democratic candidates in Senate District 46, have said they will attend.
Chad Paton, who is seeking the Republican Party nomination in House District 120, has been called up for active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve but plans to attend remotely and take questions from the audience.
Ward Black, also seeking the Republican Party nomination for House District 120, has said he is unavailable that evening. He also has been asked to send a representative.
Katie Vickery will serve as moderator of the forum.
Structure On Forum
I have run many candidate forums in the 20 years I have been writing this blog, always with the citizen-focused format that allows voters to directly pose their questions to the candidates.
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I asked Vickery, who worked as an associate producer for Fox 17 and RFD-TV in Nashville before moving to Oconee County, to help me with organization of the April 21 candidate forum.
She currently does marketing and communication consulting for schools and small businesses.
Vickery has collaborated with me on coverage of Oconee County Republican Party meetings.
The April 21 session will have three separate panels. Candidates will introduce themselves at the beginning of each.
Vickery next will recognize audience members, who will be given a microphone to ask their questions.
All candidates in the panel will have the chance to respond to each question asked.
I will video record the session and upload the video to my Vimeo channel, where it will be downloadable by the candidates.
I also will post a summary of the meeting on this blog, also with a link to the video.
Candidates will be invited to bring their campaign material for distribution at the end of the session.
Brief Notes On Candidates
Senate District 46 currently is being represented by Republican Bill Cowsert, who is stepping down to run for the Republican Party nomination for state Attorney General.
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On their qualification forms, both Broun and McKillip list Oconee County addresses and list their occupations as “Lawyer,”
McMain, from Walton County, lists his occupation as “Entrepreneur.”
Broun’s web site is HERE.
McKillip’s web site is HERE.
McMain’s web site is HERE.
On the Democratic side, Gaulden, from Clarke County, lists his occupation as “Funeral Services,” and Smith, from Oconee County, lists his occupation as “Software Engineer.”
Gaulden’s web site is HERE.
Smith’s web sit is HERE.
House District 120 currently is represented by Houston Gaines, who is stepping down to run for the Republican Party nomination for U.S. Congressional District 10.
Black, from Jackson County, lists his occupation as “Sales” on his qualifying form, while Paton, from Clarke County, lists his occupation as “Professor.”
Black’s web site is HERE.
Paton’s web site is HERE.
Democrat Suzanna Karatassos has no opposition in the May 19 primary.
District Composition
Senate District 46 consists of all of Oconee County and parts of Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, and Walton Counties.
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In the November 2024 election, 8.0 percent of the vote for Senate District 46 came form Barrow County, 20.2 percent came from Clarke County, 14.3 percent came from Gwinnett County, 26.6 percent came from Oconee County, and 30.9 percent came from Walton County.
In 2022, those figures were: Barrow (6.7 percent), Clarke (20.1 percent), Gwinnett (13.2 percent), Oconee (29.4 percent), and Walton (30.5 percent).
House District 120 consists of parts of Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, and Oconee counties.
In 2024, 8.3 percent of the vote came from Barrow County, 48.4 percent came from Clarke County, 25.9 percent came from Jackson County, and 17.5 percent came from Oconee County.
In 2022, those figures were: Barrow (7.4 percent), Clarke (49.3 percent), Jackson (24.7 percent), and Oconee (18.6 percent).
The 2022 redistricting pushed the border of the 120th district north to include Commerce, where Ward lives, and increased the percent of vote from Jackson from 12.0 percent in 2020 to the 24.7 percent in 2022.
The percent of vote in the 120th from Oconee County decreased from 25.0 percent in 2020 to 18.6 percent in 2022.
The current House District 120 was the 117th House District prior to redistricting following the 2020 Census.
The remainder of Oconee County is in the 121st House District.
Incumbent Democrat Eric Gisler has no opposition in the May 19 Democratic Party Primary. Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest IV also is unopposed in the May 19 Republican Party Primary.
Early voting for the May 19 primary in Oconee County begins on April 27 at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway, north of Watkinsville.
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