Former Macon-Bibb commissioner launches lieutenant governor campaign
A former Middle Georgia county commissioner announced his campaign for lieutenant governor Monday, making him the second Democratic candidate to officially throw his hat in the ring.
Seth Clark, a former Macon-Bibb commissioner and mayor pro tem, vowed to focus on affordability and bringing a “compassion-driven approach to state government.”
Clark recently resigned from office, as well as from his role leading an environmental conservation nonprofit, to focus on his campaign.
Clark was raised by a single mother after his father died when Clark was 9. He said he watched his Monroe County community support his family.
“Her dedication to her family and the community and, in turn, the community’s commitment to pitching in to help raise us taught me a sense of duty and community rooted in that and the tenets of my faith,” Clark, 39, said in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Clark said the majority of Democratic candidates for statewide office are from metro Atlanta. The ticket needs candidates that represent other areas, he said.
“We can’t run six people from the same part of Georgia,” he said, adding that he saw an opening to help the state in the same way he said he’s helped the Macon area.
In a two-minute video announcing his campaign, Clark said Georgians are struggling economically.
“Wages aren’t keeping up. Groceries and power bills rise every month,” he said. “Health care, child care, housing and college are out of reach for too many people. That’s not the Georgia that raised me — and it’s not the Georgia we have to accept.”
Clark will face state Sen. Josh McLaurin, an Atlanta Democrat, in the May 19 primary. Five Republican candidates have also launched campaigns.
He was first elected to the Macon-Bibb County Commission in 2020 and was reelected in 2024. While in office, he says the county cut taxes for working families, invested in public safety, expanded affordable housing, rebuilt infrastructure and green space and strengthened neighborhoods.
Clark compared those initiatives to what he described as failed economic policies of President Donald Trump and his allies in Atlanta. He said he’s been disappointed with the way Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally who is running for governor, has presided over the Senate.
“When you treat the institution of the state Senate and the office of lieutenant governor with the respect that it deserves, it doesn’t turn into an office that just turns out national talking points, like Lt. Gov. Jones has done,” Clark said. “The institution has slowly become just a state version of the United States Capitol, which is obviously very broken right now.”
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
