Republican business executive Clark Dean has filed paperwork to run for Georgia governor, setting the stage for an outsider-themed campaign against a field of GOP rivals with long experience in elected office.
Dean, who plans to formally launch his campaign within days, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday that he was encouraged to join the race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp after recent speaking engagements at political events.
“As an outsider and business leader, I will stand firm in our shared conservative American principles, put Georgia families first and deliver real results,” he said.
A Harvard-trained business consultant, Dean is an executive managing director at real estate firm Transwestern, where he leads the transaction sciences practice. He’s also active in civic life, including work with the Shepherd Center rehabilitation hospital.
Still, he’s largely unknown in statewide political circles, aside from a recent spate of grassroots Republican appearances.
Dean enters a competitive contest that already includes Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Trump-aligned candidate who recently secured the president’s endorsement; and Attorney General Chris Carr, who is pitching himself as a mainstream Republican who supports MAGA policies.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is also expected to enter the contest.
The Democratic side is also unsettled. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, ex-state Sen. Jason Esteves and former DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond are in the mix. Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a onetime Republican who switched parties, could also enter.
Dean is far from the first business executive without political experience to pitch himself to Georgia voters.
Former Fortune 500 Chief Executive David Perdue upset political veterans to win a U.S. Senate seat in 2014, and Derek Dooley is running for U.S. Senate with Kemp’s backing after a decades-long career as a football coach.
But Dean faces steep challenges building name recognition and breaking through against prominent rivals in a crowded GOP field.
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