Blake Tillery has joined a growing list of his Senate colleagues who have officially launched their campaigns for lieutenant governor.
Tillery, a Vidalia Republican, kicked off his campaign Monday with a seven-city tour that crisscrossed Georgia from Savannah to Atlanta with plans to end in his hometown.
Tillery was joined at the Georgia Capitol on Monday by his wife and two sons, ages 4 and 1, his parents and a handful of supporters.
“They’re the reason I’m running,” Tillery said of his children. “You see, I think we should continue to focus on values that matter to Georgians, and I want my kids to be raised in a Georgia just like I was. One that believes in faith in God and puts Georgia values first.”
The main roles of the lieutenant governor are to preside over the Senate and step in if something happens to the governor.
Tillery, 42, joins three of his Senate colleagues — Republicans Steve Gooch and John Kennedy and Democrat Josh McLaurin — in the race to replace Burt Jones, who is running for governor.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, has also been considering a run for the office, and GOP state Rep. David Clark recently filed paperwork to explore his chances.
First elected in 2016, Tillery, a real estate attorney, rose quickly up the chamber ranks and was appointed as Senate Appropriations Committee chair in 2020. He served as Toombs County Commission chair before joining the Senate.
Tillery typically focuses his time at the Capitol on balancing the state’s $67.2 billion budget, but he pushed more headline-grabbing legislation during the recent legislative session.
Tillery sponsored a bill that would allow Georgians to sue local law enforcement agencies they say try to protect immigrants with “sanctuary” policies. He also tried to ban state health plans from paying for health care sought by transgender Georgians. Both measures garnered hours of debate and won the support of his Republican Senate colleagues but ultimately failed in the House.
Tillery said the crowded Republican primary could make it hard for voters to choose, but he hopes to be able to stand on his role in passing conservative, balanced budgets for the past several years.
“In the end, Georgians vote for the person they trust,” he said. “And if they look at our record of results, that person is Blake Tillery.”
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