Oconee County GOP Stumping Ground Forum Included Heated Exchanges As Candidates Made Appeals Before June 16 Runoff

***State Senate District 46 Candidates Lead Off***

The Republican Party Stumping Ground forum got off to a contentious start on Monday as Doug McKillip and Marc McMain, seeking the party’s nomination in the state Senate District 46 race, tussled over gambling, property tax relief, campaign financing, party affiliation, and other matters.

The event ended nearly two hours later with a sharp exchange between Vernon Jones, seeking the party nomination in the state Secretary of State race, and moderator Tim Bryant over Jones’s assertion that the 2020 presidential race in Georgia was “stolen.”

Between those exchanges, candidates for Public Service Commission District 5 and State School Superintendent engaged in largely cordial exchanges in response to questions from Bryant.

And Greg Dolezal, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, tried to differentiate himself from John F. Kennedy, who did not attend the event at the Cotton Gin south of Watkinsville but also is seeking the party nomination for Lieutenant Governor.

The Republican Party has not decided who will be at the top of its ticket in November, but neither Mike Collins nor Derek Dooley, competing in the June 16 Party Primary Runoff election for U.S. Senate, and neither Rick Jackson nor Burt Jones, competing for the party nomination for Governor, attended the event.

The Democratic Party has four races on the June 16 runoff ballot, compared with the seven for the Republicans, with the Democrats still to decide on the party nominee for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner, and Labor Commissioner.

Early voting starts on June 8 at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon High, north of Watkinsville, and runs only for five days, ending on June 12. Early voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each of those days.

Houston Gaines, who has secured the Republican Party nomination in the 10th Congressional District race, began the program Monday by urging those present to vote in the June 16 runoff election and then to put differences aside and unite to compete with the Democrats in the Nov. 3 election.

Senate District 46: Initial Question

Bryant of Georgia Morning News (WMOQfm) began the first session, for Senate District 46 candidates McMain and McKillip, by asking McMain to list “issues, characteristics, and qualities that separate you from your opponent, Doug McKillip.”

McMain 6/1/2026

After providing details of his background, McMain said “So I form my pillars of my campaign from this. Number one for me is law enforcement. I've been endorsed by every Republican sheriff in this district.”

“Number two is education,” he said. “I look forward to working, whoever the next Superintendent is of Schools, to get Georgia out of the gutter in education...And I think a big part of that is school choice, universal school choice.”

“Number three is our taxes,” he said. “I'm all about freezing our property taxes. We got to be wise how we do it...The counties don't want the state interfering. So if the state is going to get involved in this, we have to work with the county commission to be sure it's a plan that works and that doesn't leave the counties bankrupt.”

McMain said he is in favor of “reducing, hopefully eliminating our state income tax. It is the only way to really put money back in the pockets of Georgians.”

“The last one is mental health,” he said.

“I’m pro law enforcement,” McKillip said when Bryant asked him the same question. “I’m pro education.”

McKillip 6/1/2026

“With regard to my opponent talking about a property tax freeze,” McKillip said. “I'm pretty surprised by that, because during this campaign, the Commission of Walton County put an 18 percent property tax increase on every homeowner.”

“I went to the rally against it,” he said. “I put an ad in the paper against it. We got crickets from my opponent.”

“I have come out from day one in this race and said I'm against casinos, I'm against gambling," McKillip said. “I'm against increasing gambling in Georgia.”

“Mark McMain is funded by the casino gambling lobby,” McKillip said.

“I'm not taking any lobbyist money,” McKillip said. “No local elites’s money, no special interest money, not a dime from anybody other than myself.”

“I've done this job for six years,” McKillip said, referring to his time as a state representative. “I wrote and passed Georgia's Fetal Pain Bill that put an end permanently to barbaric late-term abortions.”

Bryant asked McMain to respond, and he said “I'm against legalization of sports betting in our state. I'm against casinos...I have no clue as to why they're supporting me or whoever in this race.”

“So I went to the County Commission when I found about the millage rate increase, and I did the proper thing,” McMain said. “I addressed them directly to the point where I fractured some relationships, and I offered them some solutions. But at the end of the day, I'm a citizen. I don't get to vote on that. That was their decision.”

More From Senate District 46 Candidates

Much of the interaction between McKillip and McMain centered on McKillip’s political career.

“He is a Democrat to the core,” McMain said of McKillip. “You can remove Doug from the Democratic Party, but you can't get the Democrat out of Doug. It's buried in there.”

In 2006, 2008, and 2010, McKillip ran for and won a state House seat in then House District 115 as a Democrat. After winning in 2010, he switched his party to Republican and served out that term as a Republican. He was defeated in the Republican Party Primary in 2012.

McKillip, Bryant, McMain 6/1/2026

“So if we're going to convict me, then you have to convict Trump, you have to convict Reagan, Sonny Perdue, Nathan Deal,” McKillip said, because they all switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

“I guarantee you this whole ‘Doug's friends with Democrats’ is just the only thing he's got,” McKillip said.

Bryant turned the conversation to immigration, and McKillip said “If I'm at the legislature, we're going to deport every single person who is here illegally, every illegal alien, not just criminal illegal aliens. People love to say that.”

“Every illegal alien who came here illegally under (former President) Biden has got to go home, and then we'll figure it out,” he added. “In the meantime, we support law enforcement and make sure they have the tools to keep everyone safe.”

“Yes or no, does that mean an ICE detention facility in Social Circle?” Bryant asked, referring to the ICE purchase of a warehouse in that Walton County city.

“I've talked to the folks in Social Circle, and they don't want it,” McKillip said. “There are some people who are like, ‘Look, they're coming. They're here. They're going to do this. We need to make sure that the federal government comes in and builds out our infrastructure to the greatest extent possible.’"

“I don't agree with that,” McKillip said. “I think we should put the facility right dead square between Stacey Abrams’s and Jon Ossoff's home.” Abrams is a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, and Ossoff is the current U.S. Senator, a Democrat.

“I think everything like that, whether it's a data center, whether it's a bypass or the ICE facility in Social Circle, all that has to be made at a county level,” McMain said.

“There's nothing more disappointing than when a decision's made under the cloak of night and you find out that something's happened without your permission,” McMain said, “without your involvement, without your voice being heard.”

“So any decision like that needs to be made from the county commission with the involvement from the citizens,” he added.

Ray Smith won the Democratic Party Primary and will face either McKillip or McMain in November. Incumbent Bill Cowsert ran unsuccessfully for the party nomination for Attorney General.

Public Service Commission Race

Bryant turned immediately to data centers when Josh Tolbert and Bobby Mehan came to the stage to make the case for their selection as the party nominee for District 5 on the Public Service Commission.

Voters across the state vote for each of the candidates on the Public Service Commission, regardless of the District where those candidates live. Democrats have already elected Shelia Edward as their nominee for the Nov. 3 election.

Tolbert 6/1/2026

“The Public Service Commission doesn't determine if data centers come or do not come,” Tolbert told Bryant and the audience. “They determine where they get their power and who pays for it.”

“So your local county commissioner, zoning boards, they determine if they come,” he said, “where they go, all that sort of thing.”

“I'm just kind of a frank guy,” he continued. “So I'll be direct, I think being just broadly anti-data center in every aspect of the word today is kind of like being anti-car in 1910.You may not like them, but they are coming.”

“The role the Public Service Commission has, I think, is to make sure that when they do come, they're responsible,” Tolbert added. “They pay their own way. They're not a financial burden on the ratepayers.”

“Georgia happens to be the state that's pioneering these data centers,” Mehan said. “There are a lot of things that are being worked out in the middle. The PSC does seem to be right in that hotspot.”

“Like Josh said, we don't approve if they're coming to be built,” Mehan said. “We just have to make sure that there's enough power and that the utilities can provide reliability and safe power to them at an affordable price.”

Mehan 6/1/2026

“So I think if we can put a plan in place, and the PSC has already started to do that, and if we can refine that plan as we move forward,” Mehan continued, “and if the local communities can really make sure it's done correctly...make sure that we're not encroaching on neighborhoods and encroaching on the natural resources in the community, then I think that we should take advantage of that opportunity as opposed to it going to another state.”

When Bryant asked Tolbert why voters should pick him over Mehan, Tolbert said “there's not a single engineer on the Commission.” Tolbert is an engineer.

“How do you make these technical decisions without that?” he added.

“What we have not had on the PSC as well as an engineer is also a mediator,” Mehan said. “I'm a Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution mediator.”

School Superintendent

Fred “Bubba” Longgrear, superintendent of Candler County Schools, was the first to speak in the third segment of the Monday night program. “I'm passionate about improving discipline outcomes in schools,” he said.

Longgrear 6/1/2026

“I feel like we've compromised on what we're allowing students to do in the classrooms, and it's interfering with teachers' ability to teach,” he said, “and I think we need to be tougher on that.”

“I'm passionate about improving literacy outcomes,” he said, “And also career development opportunities for students, making sure that we're not only having a high graduation rate, but also students are prepared for beyond graduation with good career opportunities.”

Incumbent Superintendent Richard Woods said “one of the things we're working on now is how do we prepare our students for a world in which they are going to use AI?”

“A lot of our skilled workforce is aging out,” he added. “I think probably the average age of our skilled labor force is about 55, 60. So you can see that we're going to need individuals to come as we continue to be a growing state.”

“What we have done in the state, we have expanded our graduation options,” he said. “When I first started, we said every child has to go to a four-year university. One of the worst things that we did as a state.”

Woods 6/1/2026

“So we began to expand that,” he said. “Right now, we're beginning to roll out a work-based learning diploma option...for kids that want to go straight into the workforce.”

When Bryant asked Longgrear to make a closing statement, he said “I would ask that you look at the two candidates. We have a three-term incumbent that's asking to get a fourth term.”

“After three terms, I think that it's time for a change,” he said. “I've been effective in leading, influencing, and persuading others to best-known practices my whole career.”

“He is asking that you be fired,” Bryant said, turning to Woods. “Why should you be retained?”

“I've done a good job for three terms,” Woods responded. “For somebody to be elected three terms means you approve of what they've done.”

“I'm a man of integrity,” he added. “I'm a man who is honest. I've done exactly what I said that I was going to do.”

The Democratic Party has selected Lydia Powell as its candidate for State School Superintendent.

Dolezal For Lieutenant Governor

Bryant began his conversation with Dolezal by saying "I'm from south of I-20. I'm from south of I-16. Growing up, I'm 30 miles north of I-10.”

"Why should I vote for you if you consider my part of the state less important than your part of the state, Metro Atlanta?” Bryant asked.

Dolezal said that Bryant was referring to “a conversation with some people in Cherokee County, and I was talking to them about the importance of about three collar counties up there that Governor Kemp won, that constituted about half of his margin of victory.”

Dolezal 6/1/2026

"Those counties are turning blue at a really, really rapid rate,” Dolezal said. “And so I was discussing with those counties the importance of having someone that understands the importance of those counties. That's been misconstrued.”

“So here's what I would say,” he continued. “Whether you're near I-10, I-16, I-20, or the State Route 20 up my way, Republicans want a fighter, and they are tired of hearing candidates come before them that campaign like Donald Trump and govern like Mitt Romney.”

“And I believe that we're in a fight not only to save America but to save the West,” he said. “And we have to have leaders of this party who understand that, who are willing to lead with bold conservative legislation and really talk about solutions, frankly, as opposed to getting caught up in some sort of tribalism or something like that.”

Dolezal currently represents Forsyth County in the State Senate.

When Bryant turned the conversation to gambling, Dolezal said “I'm not supportive of expansion of gambling in the state. I don't want to see casinos. I do not want to see expansion of horse racing on the sports betting side.”

“Some people like this, some people don't,” Dolezal said when Bryant asked about property taxes, “but I firmly believe this position, when you do turn 65 and you are on a fixed income, I do not believe it is your job to pay for my four kids to go to public school anymore."

Dolezal’s opponent in the runoff on June 16 is John F. Kennedy, a former state senator from Adrian west of Swainsboro who resigned from the senate to run for lieutenant governor.

The Democrats will select between Josh McLaurin and Nabilah Parkes in the June 16 runoff.

Vernon Jones For Secretary Of State

The final speaker of the evening was Jones, running against Tim Fleming for the party nomination for Secretary of State.

“Tell me why you want to be Secretary of State,” Bryant said as Jones was settling into his chair. "More importantly than that, tell me why these folks ought to vote for you.”

“Well, first of all, public trust has been eroded,” Jones said. “People don't feel like their vote is being counted and being counted accurately. They saw what happened in 2020.”

“What happened in 2020?” Bryant asked.

“Fraud, vote irregularities. You saw what happened in Fulton County. It was on video,” Jones said.

“What was the video?” Bryant asked.

“How they were mishandling ballots, how haphazardly they were handling the ballots,” Jones said.

“We recounted 2020 three times, once by hand,” Bryant said. “What would you have us do by way of putting that issue in the rear view mirror and let's focus on the windshield that is 2026?”

“Well, we can't go forward unless we fix what happened in the past,” Jones said.

Jonex and Bryant 6/1/2026

Almost 10 minutes into this back and forth, Bryant said “we've reached a place where the losing side is not going to accept the results. How much longer can we have a functioning democracy if that's the case?”

“It's not about the winning side or the losing side,” Jones responded. “It's to make sure everybody here, right here in Oconee County, when they go and cast their vote, they know their vote's going to be counted accurately.”

“I shouldn't be debating you,” Jones said. “I should be telling these people out here what my vision is for Georgia.”

“So I want to say to people out there in Georgia, and I want to be clear,” Jones said. “You all know something happened in 2020. The election was stolen.”

Jones, who has served in the Georgia House of Representatives, also was Chief Executive of DeKalb County.

Fleming, from Newton County, currently is in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Democrats on June 16 will pick between Dana Barrett and Penny Reynolds as the party nominee for Secretary of State.

Gaines Addresses Gathering

Before turning the program over to Bryant at the beginning of the meeting on Monday, Oconee County Party Chair Kathy Hurley invited Gaines to the stage.

Gaines currently is representing the 120th House District in the General Assembly. The Northeast Precinct of the county is in the 120th.

Gaines 6/1/2026

“I just wanted to come say thank you,” Gaines said. “Thank you all for your support in the primary.” Gaines defeated two other candidates to win the race outright.

“Tonight, obviously, it's all about the run-offs,” he said. “We’ve got to get folks out to vote in these run-offs because this is to decide important nominees in some of our most important races.”

“Then as soon as that happens, on June 17th, the next day, we got to get 100 percent unified. Every single person on this ticket has got to be on the same page because if we're going to win in November, I can tell you the Democrats, they are fired up. They're already working together.”

“We need to make sure our side is unified, together, and working hard to turn out the vote because this election in November, I know we keep saying it, but it is the most important election,” Gaines said.

“Now that we've got President Trump, we've got to make sure that we hold the U.S. House, hold the U.S. Senate, hold the governor's mansion, kick Jon Ossoff out of the Senate,” he said.

“This November is absolutely critical,” he emphasized.

Gaines will face Democrat Pamela DeLancy in November.

Video

With the permission of Oconee County Republican Party Chair Hurley, I video recorded the entire meeting on Monday.

Hurley estimated that about 150 people attended. I counted about 120, but I was not able to see some of those who were outside the open-air facility at the Cotton Gin.

The event was organized by Hurley and other offices of the Oconee County Republican Party in collaboration with the Republican Parties in 16 other counties in the 10th Congressional District. The districts consists of 16 complete counties and parts of four counties.

The video I recorded is below.

My brief summaries above leave out much of what transpired in the exchanges of the candidates.

I have given extra attention to the exchange involving the two candidates seeking the party nomination in Senate District 46.

Oconee County falls entirely in the 46th Senate District, which also includes parts of Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, and Walton counties.

McKillip attended the April 21 candidate forum organized by myself and other Oconee County citizens and sponsored by The Oconee Enterprise. McMain did not.

I have annotated the video to allow readers to watch the exchanges of greatest interest.

Gaines made his comments beginning at 4:34 in the video.

The Senate District 46 candidates began their comments at 8:32 in the video.

The candidates for the Public Service Commission race took the stage at 29:48 in the video.

The School Superintendent segment of the forum begins at 49:57 in the video.

Dolezal came to the stage at 1:13:24 in the video.

Jones joined Bryant at 1:27:51 in the video.

Video