Hello and welcome in.

I'm Zach Merchant, anchor and political reporter at 11 Alive News in Atlanta.

Welcome in to the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk young debate series coming to you from the studios of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Foundation.

This is the debate for Republican candidates running for lieutenant governor of Georgia.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates.

Maya Prabhu is the editorial director of peach.

Paul, a political news platform launching at the end of April.

Tyreke Nguyen is a morning news anchor at 40:01 NBC in Macon.

I'm going to kick off tonight's debate, asking each of the candidates to introduce themselves and tell viewers why they should be the next lieutenant governor of Georgia.

Candidates will have 60s to introduce themselves.

We.

We will go in alphabetical order, starting with David Clark.

My name is David Clark.

I was born and raised in Georgia, grew up in Gwinnett County and Suwanee on a small farm.

One of ten children.

I'm a business leader.

Green Beret combat veteran with 13 years of military service.

I've served in the house since 2015.

And do you have seven candidates to choose from?

I can tell you I'm the only battle tested candidate running in this race, whether in defense of my nation overseas, in combat, whether taking on the left and the radical ideology.

But third, which is just as important, are you willing to stand up to members of your own party when they're not willing to do the right thing?

I've done that.

I've given up chairmanship committees to stand against corruption, to be a voice for the people.

Politicians talk, but I've been tested under fire, and I'll do that.

As the next lieutenant governor of Georgia.

Greg Dolezal, you are next.

60s to you.

Good evening.

My name is Greg Dolezal.

I'm a husband, a father of four and a businessman.

Before this race, these men and women were all my friends.

And they will be after.

But tonight is about who has the record and the backbone to be our next lieutenant governor in the Senate.

I've delivered.

I led on school choice, banned dye mandates, and wrote the Riley Gaines Act to keep men out of women's sports.

And when Fani Willis went after President Trump, I stood up and went after her.

Right now, Georgia families are getting crushed by the cost of gas, groceries and property taxes, all while politicians give billions to big corporations.

If you're tired of politicians, politicians protecting the powerful while telling you to wait in line, it's time to send them a message.

Georgia doesn't belong to the lobbyists or the special interests.

It belongs to you.

Thank you, Mr.. Dolezal Steve Gooch your next 60s to you.

Hello, Georgia.

My name is Steve Gooch.

I'm going to be your next lieutenant governor.

I'm an unapologetic pro choice, pro-life and pro-second amendment.

Conservative Republican from North Georgia.

Today, Democrats are trying to take over our state, bring socialism to our country, out of control, left social mob woke mob is trying to destroy our way of life here in Georgia with Christian values that we are all used to living on.

As your next Lieutenant governor, I'll stand up against the left, and I will make sure Georgia will continue to be the conservative state that it is today.

John Kennedy, you're next.

Thank you.

Hello, Georgia.

Before we start, I want to ask us all to remember and pray for our friends and citizens down in South Georgia that are dealing with the wildfires.

And also make sure that we remember those that are down there fighting them and trying to help them.

I want to thank the Atlanta Press Club for this debate.

I'm John F Kennedy and I'm a lifelong Georgian.

My wife and I live in Macon, where we have reared our family and our two children.

I'm from a small town in South Georgia by the name of Adrian, where faith, family and hard work still matter.

Family instilled into me service and responsibility, and for 11 years I had the privilege of serving in the Georgia Senate, fighting for conservative values and delivering results for Georgia.

I'm running for lieutenant governor because I want to keep Georgia learning.

I want to keep Georgia growing, and I want to keep Georgia safe.

Georgia needs a proven conservative leader that actually gets results.

I look forward to speaking with you during the course of the debate, and I'd be honored to have your vote.

Thank you, Mr.

Kennedy.

Brenda Nelson-Porter would be next, but declined to participate in his.

Represented by an empty podium.

We go now to Takosha Swan.

It is your turn.

Good evening Georgia.

I'm Dr.

Takosha Swan.

I'm a veteran of the United States Army in the Georgia Army National Guard.

I'm a mother.

I'm a small business owner and a former former state public officer appointed by the governor.

I believe Georgia belongs to the people, not the politicians.

As the president of the Senate, I'm here to bring accountability and trust back to our state.

For too long, every day, Georgians, our veterans, our seniors and our working families have been ignored.

As your lieutenant governor, I'll fight for my original idea to end property taxes specifically for seniors and cut taxes on everyday essentials like groceries, gas and hygiene.

We're going to protect parental rights, support our law enforcement, and ensure our elections are secure and transparent.

But I won't do it alone.

Through our citizen councils, I'm bringing you into the room where decisions are made.

It's time for a government that answers to you.

I'm Dr.

Takosha Swan.

Let's restore Georgia by voting for the Swan.. Blake Tillery, you are next.

Well, first, thank you so much again for allowing us to be here this evening.

I'm Blake Tillery.

My family is from northwest Georgia, Rome and Cedartown, but I grew up in Vidalia where my wife and I now reside.

Now she's an ob gyn, I practice law, we figured out she's delivered about 2000 babies since I've been in the Senate, and we raise our sons there.

John is four, Williams, two, and our foster son, Jeremiah, he's 16.

How I first got elected.

I helped Republicans get elected locally, and the first thing they did was raise the property taxes.

That's not conservative.

So I ran and I won.

And what I found out is we didn't have a revenue problem.

We had a spending problem.

And once we addressed that, we were able to reduce property taxes.

As chairman.

Four years in a row, I carried that same mindset to the Senate, where we've been able to return over $11 billion of your money to you.

But I think we can do better still.

Our campaign is focused on three things protecting Georgia values, Georgia families and Georgia pocketbooks.

And I look forward to talking to you about more of those this evening.

Thank you, Mr.

Tillery, for the full set of debate rules, please visit Atlanta Press club.org.

We will now go to the panel, starting with Maya Prabhu, who will ask a question for everyone to answer.

Once again, candidates have 60s for their responses.

Good evening.

Um, so as you know, in primary elections, a lot of times there's not a lot of daylight between candidates on policy stances.

So as lieutenant governor, what is something that you would do that no one else on this stage would do?

And Blake Tillery, we will begin with you.

Well, Maya, thanks for the question and thanks for trying to set us up as different.

I think that what makes me stand out and be different in this race is I'm a true conservative.

I've stood up a lot of times and said no when it wasn't fun to do.

So I chair the Budget committee.

Nine out of ten conversations that we have in that room.

We're having to tell somebody their idea is good, but their ideas not what a proper role of government should be.

Saying no does not help you win a primary election.

But if I don't say no, then the people who are standing outside that room, you, the voters, you have to foot that bill.

I'm going to continue to stand up, be a true conservative, and fight for you in every day in this race and beyond.

Steve Gooch the same question to you?

Sure.

Thanks for the question.

For the past three years, I've been the majority leader in the state Senate.

My peers in the Republican caucus elected me two different times to represent them, to mediate and try to get consensus amongst our caucus, working with the lieutenant governor's office, working with the speaker's office and the leadership in the House, along with the governor's office, to make sure we pass conservative legislation.

We were very successful.

You'll hear about a lot of these bills tonight that we pass over the last three years.

We've also lowered the state income tax for years in a row.

We've returned billions of dollars of surplus to you, the taxpayers, and we'll continue to do more.

As lieutenant governor.

I can build that consensus.

I can bring the team together.

I can work across the aisle with the House of Representatives and the speaker's office and with the next governor, whoever the next governor might be.

I have that experience as being in leadership for the last 11 years, and I will continue to make sure that we bring real solutions to common sense issues here in the state of Georgia.

Greg Dolezal the same question to you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Maya, for the question.

You know, I think about a number of times I voted no in the state Senate, whether that was on crony corporate, crony capitalist, corporate carve outs, whether that was on tax increases.

And I watched the Republican Party hand over these things to the special interests that are in the hallway.

And I haven't done that.

The system, my friends, is rigged, and I'm standing up to take the rigged system and put it back in the hands of the people of Georgia.

And one thing that I would say that I would do differently, perhaps, is I would not entertain the idea of taking money out of the pockets of hardworking Georgians to give it to special interests.

We have billions and billions of dollars of special interest carve outs in our current tax code.

It makes it hard, if not impossible, for us to eliminate the income tax.

We have to understand that we have to have bold conservative leadership to get done what Republicans have been promising people for years, but have been failed to deliver.

John F Kennedy, your response?

Thank you, Maya.

That's a great question because I think it really goes to the heart of the issue of who is truly effective and can be effective.

As lieutenant governor.

I've got a proven track record of being effective.

The last three years I was in the Senate, I served as the president pro tem.

It's the highest ranking office in the Georgia Senate.

It's also elected by all the senators, and I was elected to that position because of the way that I deal with people.

I deal with the people in a collaborative way of trying to get the best ideas, conservative values and principles always drive my decision making, but doing it in a way that brings honor to the process is something that's been appreciated by all of my colleagues.

That is very much needed at the Capitol, because at the end of the day, you're going to need folks sometimes across the aisle to come over and help and, and vote on issues that we are wanting as conservative values, but we need their help.

I've got a proven track record of doing that in the Georgia Senate, and will do that in working with the House and the governor's office as your next lieutenant governor to be very effective.

Takosha Swan you're next.

Yes.

I am the only candidate that has a plan to give you a direct voice into your local government, not just during voting time, but after when we are elected.

I call it citizens councils.

Citizens councils will be created all across the state of Georgia so that we can hear your voice whenever legislation is being shaped.

You deserve a direct voice into the government.

When legislation is being shaped, I will make sure that your voice is heard.

Throughout the whole time that I serve as your lieutenant governor.

David Clark the final response to this question goes to you.

So I would just say the big difference with me is I'm truly battle tested.

You can Google me, ChatGPT me, I've taken stands.

I don't live for a title.

I think it's a big difference.

You have a lot of politicians, a lot of times empty suits talk a big, tough game.

One liners, smooth talking.

But it comes down to do you live for the title or are you fighting for the people?

And you know, back in 2019, I gave up a chairmanship committee to stand for a rape victim who had not had a day in court in almost ten years because the former speaker of the House was holding it up, and she deserved to have a voice.

And I believe as elected officials, we need to pass great legislation, but also use our voice to stand for those who have no voice.

And I've done that, and I'll continue to do that, and I'll do that as the next lieutenant governor.

Thank you all for those responses.

Our panel will now ask a question to an individual candidate.

We will start with Tyreke.

When asking a question for Takosha Swan.

Once again you have 60s for a response.

Yeah.

Dr.

Swan uh, I want to follow up to what you just said.

So you've proposed creating citizens councils to give Georgians a direct voice in policy making.

How would those councils actually influence legislation?

And what safeguards would you put in place to prevent them from becoming symbolic rather than impactful?

So these councils will, when I travel throughout Georgia and I go to the different counties, there's always about 30-50 people in every county that set up all the events and make sure that everyone in their county knows what is going on in the political space.

It's those type of people who are already in the communities, who are already serving in the communities, who are already leaders in the communities, and who have given years of their time volunteering to be who will be in these councils.

Um, I will make sure that my team connects with these councils that we hear directly from them.

We will have them to create summaries.

We will let them know the bills that we have, and the team will take that information.

We will audit that information and use it to help us to shape the policies.

We go now to Maya Prabhu for a question for Greg Dolezal.

Sarah Dolezal as Lieutenant governor, how would you handle a situation where your policy preference conflicts with the rest of your caucus?

I don't know that there would be a ton of instances where that would be the case, but what I would try to do is the same thing I've done in the Senate.

You know, the very first bill that I ever wrote was a school choice bill, and I brought it to the floor of the state Senate as a freshman.

And I was convinced that if I made all the logical arguments I could in the well, that the bill would pass.

But it didn't.

I had a number of members of my own party vote against that bill, but I didn't give up.

I came and brought it back a couple of years later.

School choice due to President Trump coming behind it in such a strong way, had begun to get momentum in the in the not only the state of Georgia, but in the country.

We brought that bill to to the state Senate floor.

It passed with unanimous Republican support and then went across the hall to the House and failed again.

But I didn't give up.

We worked with our House colleagues.

We negotiated.

We found common ground and compromised, and we delivered a plan that now has thousands and thousands of parents able to take their taxpayer funds and use them for an educational opportunity.

Their choice, that is the art of governing.

Politics is the art of the possible.

Tyreke, it is now your turn to ask a question to David Clark.

Mr.

Clark, you've proposed eliminating both the state income tax and eventually property taxes.

Two of Georgia's largest revenue sources.

So can you point to specific programs or budget categories that you would cut or restructure to make that math work?

And then also, what services should Georgians expect to lose or see reduced?

Yes, I'd say my number one is the property tax, and I came out with that out of the gate when I launched my campaign.

And I'll say, you know, eliminating the property tax and turn it into a consumption type tax, I know we can do that, you know, and sit down with economists and tax accountants and figuring out that the way to raise the revenue, and I know specifically for seniors and disabled veterans, we need to eliminate.

They're getting crushed on affordability of affording the property tax.

And I'll say, you know, also you can look at Georgia, we have over 500,000 illegals here in Georgia, and you have about 360 000 home shortage.

And so I support President Donald J. Trump rounding up these illegals, every one of them, sending them back because I'm America first, America only.

And I believe that we need to put the Americans first, Georgians first.

And that alone is just a big problem, a problem in the housing affordability and property tax of being able to afford a house and raise a family.

Maya, it is now your turn to ask a question of Steve Gooch.

Excuse me, Senator Gooch, you just spoke about your time in leadership in the Senate.

What's a decision or policy stance that was made while you were in Senate leadership that you defended publicly, but would have handled differently if you were lieutenant governor.

Who there's probably two or three.

The one that comes to mind now is the leadership committees that have been created while we were all in the General Assembly, except for Dr.

Swann, of course, the leadership committees today are able to accept contributions from lobbyists or any other person in the world with no limits while we're in session.

And that's the one thing I tried to stop while I was majority Leader.

It was to make sure the leadership committees could not accept contributions.

While we're in session.

None of us that our elected officials today can accept contributions while we're in session.

The leadership committees were created where that could be possible.

I would make sure that gets stopped.

Day one, I would introduce a bill with our senators to make sure that no one, no one would ever be able to donate money to any leadership committee or any other elected official while the General Assembly is in session passing laws.. Now to you for a question for John F Kennedy.

Mr.

Kennedy, you said that major decisions like data center development should be left to the local governments.

But what happens when the local decisions raise power costs or strain infrastructure statewide?

Can you tell us where you draw the line between local control and then also state intervention?

Sure.

Great question, Tariq, and actually I've answered this and been consistent on my position with really when it comes to data centers, there's really two issues that need to drive the decision making.

One is what you alluded to, which is where are they going to be located?

I believe that those decisions ought to be locally determined, whether it's a local planning and zoning or the county commission that decides where they go.

The second thing I've been consistent with is that the additional cost for the infrastructure, or any additional cost in rates for the power being consumed, need to be borne by the data centers.

And so I think when you add when you take both of those issues and allow the locals to make the decisions and making sure that at the level where the rate setting is set, whether it's at the PSC or whether or not it needs to be done at the legislative level, we need to make sure that the data centers are paying their fair share, paying their way, and that that additional burden is not visited on the rest of Georgia as the rest of us ratepayers.

Maya, now to you, please ask a question for Blake Tillery.

Sen Tillery.

Sometimes because of the issue that Senator Gooch just mentioned about raising money while serving in the legislature, some candidates will resign from office.

You didn't, and you manned the state budget during your most recent session.

Looking back, do you think that was the right decision, or do you think it would have better served your campaign to step down?

It absolutely was the right decision.

Thank you for the question.

If we if I would have resigned from office, I could have raised money.

One candidate here did, and they can talk about that later on.

But the issue is I promised the people of the 19th district that I was going to represent them in the Senate for two years, so I stayed and completed my job to do that.

Senator Gooch, Senator Dolezal, Representative Clark, they all did the same, and that was the right thing to do.

What I will also say is this it's not always easy to complete a campaign schedule and also complete your legislative task.

Those are incredibly difficult, and I just want to tell the publicly say congratulations and thank you to our colleagues who did it.

Y'all did an excellent job.

We completed a budget.

We returned over $2 billion to the taxpayers of our state.

And what I do it again.

Absolutely.

If you want the next job, complete the first job.

All right.

That concludes our first round.

The candidates will now ask a question to an opponent of their choice.

You'll have 30s to ask the questions, 60s to respond.

And the person who asked the question will get a 32nd rebuttal.

John F Kennedy, you may ask the first question for one of your opponents.

Zach.

Thank you, doctor Swan, I would ask you, if you were to be elected lieutenant governor, you've talked about some of your initiatives.

What would be your number one policy objective in changing how things are in Georgia now, and how would you propose and tell folks you would get that accomplished?

So the the citizen councils will definitely have a huge impact on changing how things are ran in Georgia.

Now.

And my introduction, I mentioned that Georgia belongs to the people.

It doesn't belong to the politicians.

And so it's time to bring the people into the legislative process.

We have been focused on the people when it comes to voting.

We want to hear the voice of the people when it comes to voting.

We are out here campaigning when it comes to voting, but where are you after?

After people, after the people have elected you?

Where are you?

Are you still listening to them?

Is there a relationship with them?

Do you have a plan?

Most of the candidates, I haven't heard any plan about staying connected to the people when they become lieutenant governor.

I will make that change as lieutenant governor.

Mr.

Kennedy, a 32nd rebuttal to you, if you would like one.

Zach?

I don't think so.

I think she answered the question fairly and identified one of her priorities, and I appreciate her explaining that to us.

All right.

We will move on then.

Steve Gooch, it is your turn.

Please ask a question to one of your opponents.

Sure.

Senator Dolezal, this morning as I was watching the news, I saw a news article on the Atlanta News.

I'm not going to name the station talking about the federal indictments of the liberty first Ponzi scheme of $140 million.

Your name was not mentioned on that news article, but it has been mentioned in other parts of the state in recent months.

Can you tell the people of Georgia today what involvement, if any, any contributions you received from First Liberty and any funds you've received from First Liberty for any of your business entities that you own in Georgia or anywhere else in the U.S.?

Thank you for the question.

I have received zero business funds from First Liberty Renewed Vision.

My company does not do any sort of business with them.

I received contributions from them, and I was the first elected official to return those contributions.

They gave money to conservatives all over the country, to Ted Cruz, to Governor Kemp, to a number of elected officials here in the state of Georgia.

And so I've been proud of my record in the Senate and the ability I've had to work with conservative leaders all over the state.

I will say, as it relates to this particular issue, anyone who was defrauded of their money should get every single penny back.

Anyone who committed a crime should absolutely be charged and convicted and face their day in court.

And hopefully, if they are guilty, face every single day in jail that they are, that they are due.

Because what happened was shameful.

Mr.

Gooch, if you would like a 32nd rebuttal, it is yours.

He answered the question.

Well.

We're going to move on here.

Takosha Swan it is now your turn for a question of a candidate of your choice.

Yes, Senator Gooch.

Yes, ma'am.

Leadership is about delivering results.

Over two years ago, Senate Bill 214 passed the House overwhelmingly, 130 2-39 This bill would have extended the QR code deadline and moved Georgia to paper ballots.

You were a sponsor on this bill.

However, this bill did not pass the Senate.

Republicans are the majority in the Senate.

Why have you been unable to use your relationships to prioritize a clear election process for Georgia voters in November?

That's a great question.

I'm glad you brought it up.

In fact, SB 214 was not my bill.

I am a co-sponsor, but I'm not the key sponsor.

But as majority leader, I helped craft a an amendment to that bill in the lieutenant governor's office with legal counsel to get rid of the Dominion machines once and for all, because people in Georgia have spoken loud and clear for the last four years that we do not trust the Dominion software, and we need to replace those with other machines and paper ballots.

Secondly, we were to get rid of the QR codes that was handled under a different piece of legislation.

Third, we were going to get rid of the Eric system, and fourth, we were going to move the state elections board out from under the Secretary of State's office, because the Secretary of State should not be overseeing his own election.

And so those are the provisions in the bill that passed the Senate that night.

It passed under all Republican and no Democrat support.

It went over to the House.

The House kept the bill over the summer, studied it, went around the state having study committees, brought the bill back, made changes to it.

It came back to the Senate floor this year and we did not pass it.

But I was no longer I was no longer the majority leader.

This year, I would have negotiated with the speaker to make sure we got that bill passed.

So all the other provisions of the bill could have been enforced by July 1.

Dr.

Swann, 32nd rebuttal if you would like one.

The 2026 legislation legislative session has ended with no results on how leadership will be elected in November.

That is not leadership that delivers results.

As lieutenant governor, I will make sure that the that Georgians are prioritizing not confused about important processes like our election process.

All right, Greg Dolezal, you are up next.

Thank you.

Senator Gooch, you talked about the leadership committees, and I would agree with you that they essentially put the Gold Dome up for sale with the ability for members of the legislature and leadership to raise unlimited funds.

I would agree with you.

We would not be able to do that during session.

Why do you think we haven't been able to fix that?

Um, I think it's the, the will of the leadership, the will of the lieutenant governor, the speaker and the governor, all three.

These gentlemen need to get together and talk about these things prior to session.

That's one of the things I would do as lieutenant governor that hasn't been done in the years that I've been involved in leadership in the Senate.

I haven't seen the negotiations take place early enough or often enough.

I would ask the speaker of the House to go to lunch one day a week, especially early in session.

We would talk about the priorities of both chambers, and we would make sure that some of the important bills that failed to pass this past session would be taken care of way before day 39 and day 40.

So I think it's about communication, relationships and leadership.

Mr.

Dolezal 32nd rebuttal, if you would like one.

Thank you.

These leadership committees need to be unwound.

I told you the system is rigged.

And this is just one example.

What Steve didn't mention to you is that he sponsored the bill, and I'm the only member of the Senate on the stage today that voted against the bill.

So when I tell you this, this race comes down to who has the backbone and the initial instincts to make the right decisions.

That's when you have to look at the voting records.

There is a reason why CPAC club for Growth and Turning Point USA has identified me consistently as one of the most conservative members of the Georgia State Senate.

It's about getting it right the first time.

We go now to Blake Tillery, it is your turn to ask a question of one of your opponents.

Well, thank you.

As you know, in this legislative session, we passed what's been called the Epstein Amendment.

It's about sexual harassment claims that were made against legislators that right now are not subject to open records or public disclosure.

That bill passed the General Assembly.

It's now laying on the governor's desk.

My question to each of you in the legislature is, would you be willing to sign a waiver that let your records be public now, before Governor Kemp signs that bill.

And.

Mr.

Tillery, to be clear, in this round, you get a chance to ask a question to just one of your opponents here.

So you'll have to select one if you want to ask that question.

Well, thanks, Zach.

David Clark, Greg Dolezal and Steve Gooch all voted for the bill, so I guess I can only direct it to the other legislature.

That'd be Senator Kennedy.

Sure, absolutely.

As I understand, the bill that was proposed, yes, I'd be in favor of the bill and would also be happy to sign a waiver.

Thank you.

Mr.

Tillery, would you like a rebuttal?

30s.

Well, I'm so glad because our legislature, I believe, is better than Congress.

So I'm so glad to hear that answer.

I'm sure the other folks would have said the same.

I brought a waiver today for each one of them to sign.

It's only three sentences.

They can read it themselves, and I'll let you know later on if they were willing to do that.

We hope Governor Kemp signs the bill, but if it doesn't, the folks in this lieutenant Governor's race, you'll know if there were any claims made against us.

We want to be more transparent.

David Clark we know now go to you.

It is your chance to ask a question of one of the people on the stage next to you.

Yes, Senator Gooch, in 2024, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones created the Special Committee on Investigations to hold people accountable for the Fani Willis witch hunt that ruined lives and scammed Georgia taxpayers.

You, Dolezal, John Kennedy and Tillery were all on the committee.

Dolezal even brags about it being successful.

But nobody has been held accountable.

Why didn't you or the others on stage, on the stage, do more to get to the bottom of this?

It's a great question.

And listen, there's nothing probably more important than election integrity in this state.

What we saw, what happened in 2020 was a disgrace.

And it's shameful that Georgia was literally robbed of votes in our state.

And what's even worse is the district attorney who was elected to uphold the laws of this state failed to do so, and she arrested and indicted other people that were trying to do what needed to be done, and that is to seek search for the truth, search for the truth.

On what happened to the election of 2020.

So the resolution you're referring to, representative, is a is a basically just a study committee, but it was an investigative committee that gave us powers to, to investigate and inquire from witnesses and put them under oath.

For the first time.

I've seen this happen in the Senate.

The failure in the committee was that none of the committee members were allowed to ask questions.

Only the chairman or the person presiding over the meeting was.

The last was was allowed to ask questions of the witnesses.

Fani Willis sat there for hours and never answered any of the questions.

And we need to hold her accountable for her actions.

Mr.

Dolezal, I want to give you a chance to to respond to that, because you led some of those hearings.

You have 30s.

Yeah, we exposed a number of of facts around the lawfare that Fani Willis committed against President Trump.

We exposed the fact that Nathan Wade had an eight hour phone call on the very day that Jack Smith was appointed counsel by the Biden DOJ.

We exposed the letters that Fani Willis sent to the white House seeking their coordination with the Biden White House and the Biden Justice Department.

Now, we can't lock people up and we can't haul people off to jail.

But there were a number of things that were exposed in that committee, and I'm proud of the Senate for standing up.

Frankly, I wish it could have been a joint session.

We could have had some House members there helping us as well.

But this was a unique step that the Georgia Senate took when the leadership in Georgia was saying, just let the courts handle it.

We stood up, we stood up and said, it's not enough to just let the courts handle it.

We're going to put her under oath.

We're going to bring her into the Senate, and we're going to get to the bottom of her scheme of prosecution for personal profit.

Mr.

Clark, now back to you, a 32nd rebuttal, if you would like one.

Yeah, I would say there isn't any information that they've discovered that we didn't already know, but they run around like they're Christopher Columbus and Fani Willis and her boyfriend, Nathan Wade.

The Biden administration.

Yes, even people in the Georgia government were involved.

This committee is a perfect example of how these people operate.

They make big promises, claim victory despite doing nothing.

I will be different.

A fearless leader who gets results done.

Thank you all for your questions and your responses.

Reminder you are watching the Republican primary debate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.

We will now go back to the panel, who will ask questions to the candidate of their choice until we run out of time.

Maya Prabhu, we start with you.

This question is going to be for everyone.

We often talk about the three legged stool that is the power dynamic in the Senate.

The lieutenant governor, the president, pro tem and majority leader.

Do Senate leaders have too much control in what bills get heard?

And since we're going to hear from everybody here, and we heard last from Mr.

Clark, we'll start at the other end.

Mr.

Tillery, you begin.

Well, Maya, that's actually one of the reasons why I've enjoyed my my time in the Senate.

Every senator can bring any amendment, and every senator can introduce a bill on anything.

You heard that I introduced the Epstein amendment several times this year on different pieces of legislation.

So, no, I don't think that there is a bottleneck where leadership holds things in the Senate.

I can't speak to the House.

You've got someone here who maybe can, but I don't feel that there's that bottleneck that holds the Senate back.

And anyone can propose an amendment at any point in time.

And as you've seen at least me, I've been willing to do so, especially when it's on issues related to affordability related to cost and related to making sure that your costs are held down for the everyday Georgians.

Takosha Swan the same question to you?

Uh, no, I don't believe that the Senate has too much control.

I believe that the role of the lieutenant governor should bring balance to the Senate.

The lieutenant governor will appoint the chairs of the committees in the Senate.

And the lieutenant governor has a lot of influence on the policies and the legislation that goes forth.

And so I believe that, um, how everything is ran in the Senate is in order as long as all of the leaders in the Senate, the lieutenant governor, the chairs of the committees are following the regulations, the rules, and Republican principles.

Mr.

Kennedy, same question to you.

Sure.

I think that's a good question, but I would tell you, I think the model that we have in the Senate really works.

Uh, as you know, there's a delicate balance between Senate leadership from the majority caucus standpoint and the lieutenant governor's office.

And I think that balance and that tension allows, hopefully for the best decisions to be made.

And sometimes the most important decisions made are how will a piece of legislation move forward?

Will it move forward, and will it ultimately come to the floor for a vote?

Uh, there's probably always ways to make the model better, but I would tell you, I think what we have with the structure from the Pro Timbs office, which I was honored to get to, to be in that position for three years and having a significant impact on a lot of the legislation that these folks are talking about, that they got passed.

Of course, the pro Timbs office has a lot to do with making sure that effectively comes to the floor and gets a positive vote.

So I think we should always be looking for ways to do things better.

But I think the model that we have in the Senate really does work.

Mr.

Gooch, same question to you.

Great question.

As you all know, the folks up here know the people back home.

People back home don't know the rules of the Senate are decided every two years when we all get reelected, come back in in January.

You have to adopt new rules.

The powers of the lieutenant governor are predominantly baked into the rules of the Senate.

And so his or her powers are given to him or her by the senators.

Now, I've seen you're talking about a three legged stool.

I've seen the three legged stool work well, and I've seen it work more like a three ring circus.

When the Senate caucus stripped the lieutenant governor back 15 years ago of his powers, the.

The Senate was looked upon in the in the chambers and across the hall as a three ring circus.

I think there needs to be balance.

I think there needs to be power shared between the lieutenant governor and the leadership in the Senate.

Every state senator, all 56 of them are elected by their districts, and they should have a voice at the Capitol under the Gold Dome to represent the values and the needs of their districts.

Without a dictatorship at the top.

We've done really well working under the leadership of Burt Jones.

We've passed some of the most conservative legislation in the history of the state Senate.

He's done a great job of being our leader.

The next leader has not been chosen yet.

And, Mr.

Gooch, I hate to cut you off.

That is your time there.

Thank you.

We are going to continue to move on.

Mr.

Dolezal, same question to you.

I agree with my colleagues.

I think the balance in the system works.

You know, I think about the fact that when I was able to pass the school choice bill, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, I couldn't have done that without Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones.

And frankly, my colleagues, when Ed Setzler passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, he couldn't have done that without the help of lieutenant governor.

When Jason Tart passed constitutional carry, he couldn't have done that without the help of the lieutenant governor.

But we do have our autonomy as well.

I remember back in 2020, when President Trump was was really robbed of an opportunity to really adjudicate what happened in the 2020 election.

I was one of four senators, of the 56 of us that stood up and called for a special session.

There were some other folks in the House that joined us in that call, but we have a good balance where you do have a strong leader in lieutenant governor, but you also do have autonomy, where individual senators have the ability to make decisions on their own.

The Fani Willis resolution that I wrote that Representative Clark mentioned a second ago, that's another example of an opportunity that a senator has to stand up and lead on an issue that they're passionate about.

Mr.

Clark, you're next.

So I'll say, I think we have a great balance in the Senate, and I have great relationships over there in the Senate.

But I'll say what we're voting on is the next lieutenant governor to lead the Senate.

And you can be a great legislator, but be a terrible commander.

And what the lieutenant governor is, he presides over the Senate.

He's the one that casts the overall vision.

He has massive influence on which bills come to the floor, which do not.

He should be the first off the chopper last on the chopper taking a stand for those senators.

And my favorite quote is there's no limit to how high a man can go, as long as he doesn't mind who gets the credit.

And that's what leadership is, you know, working together as a team and as a Green Beret and combat vet, I know how to, you know, serve and lead under fire and lead them in and work with people from all over the state of Georgia.

So I'm looking forward to hopefully winning May 19th and leading the Senate.

Thank you all for those responses.

We go now back to Tyreke Winn for the next question.

Yeah.

So this one I want to focus on middle Georgia.

So many smaller cities in middle Georgia struggle to attract industry compared to metro Atlanta.

What policy changes would you make to ensure economic development isn't just concentrated in just a few regions?

And I want to direct that.

At Mr.

Kennedy sure.

Thank you for that.

Uh, being from Macon, I would say first of all, it begins with an understanding that there's a great big, beautiful state out there that includes a lot of areas, not just Atlanta when it comes to business development, having grown up in southeast Georgia in a town of 800 people, I know the feeling and the struggles of rural Georgia and not having the infrastructure to attract business and industry that the larger areas have.

I think what we've got to do, number one, is continue what Governor Kemp has done, which is remember the areas, I think the percentage of new business that Governor Kemp has brought in has been 78%.

That has gone to areas outside of the state.

But I think where we excuse me, out of Atlanta, but I think where we can do better is infrastructure development in the more rural areas of the state so that those areas are ready, work, business ready for industry to come in.

That's been one of the areas we've been lacking that requires some additional leadership, some new thought and the expenditure of funds to make sure that the rest of Georgia is ready.

Thank you, Mr.

Kennedy.

Maya, your next question.

Um, I think all my questions are going to be for everyone.

So if you want to mentally prepare for that, um, so historically there is some good natured tension between the Senate and the House in the past few years, it seems to have gotten a little less good natured and the tension has been a little bit more significant.

What do you think the role of the lieutenant governor should be?

Should it be to keep the peace, or should it be to hold firm on the Senate's positions?

And on this one, we're going to start from this side.

Mr.

Clark, you get the first answer.

So I would say both.

I mean, a leader needs to know when you need to.

You know, maybe, you know, be a little tough.

But then also there's times you need to be able to, you know, work together, come together and do that.

So I think you need that type of leader who knows how to be tough, stand firm.

And again, you know, what we're all running on is are you running running for a title or to fight for the people to be a voice and get things done here in Georgia?

And so I think having that, that double balance.

And then also, again, to my quote, you know, there's no limit to how high a man can go as long as he doesn't mind getting credit.

So if you're if you're not living for yourself, you're living to put Georgia the next generation first, you're going to be a great leader.

And I think that's what you need in the next Lieutenant governor.

Mr.. Dolezal yeah, I think that this is something that really needs to shift in the General Assembly.

You know, we have these House versus Senate fights.

And when Republicans had supermajorities, maybe that was something that made sense.

But when we're holding on to thin majorities, the people at home do not care whether something is a House bill or a Senate bill.

They just know they're getting crushed by property taxes.

They know that the price of gas has gone up, and they are looking to Republicans for solutions.

So a change that I would love to see, Maya, is to have Republicans, specifically the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House, and the governor sit down in October, lay out a contract every year, a contract with Georgians, give half of the bills to the House, give half of the bills to the Senate.

Let's pass those in the first 20 days.

Let's spend the last 20 days working on the budget because that is very, very important.

But right now, the kind of the inner squabbles that we have, I think are unnecessary.

And frankly, I think it's a parlor game for the reporters and politicians care about.

But nobody's sitting at home in their kitchen tables worried about whether something is a House bill or a Senate bill.

So I would love to see us deliver Republican solutions to every family in Georgia.

Mr.

Gooch.

First thing I would do is make sure everybody checks their egos at the door.

There's 11 million people in this state that we're trying to work for, for the better of their lives, to make tomorrow a better day for their kids and their grandkids.

It shouldn't matter who gets credit.

It shouldn't matter who wins and who loses.

We should be working together for the good of our state on a bipartisan level as much as possible.

But when the at the end of the day, the majority party has to get things done.

We have to balance our budgets.

We have to cut taxes.

It should not matter which bill comes across to the final finish line to the governor's desk.

I would continue to work with my relationships in the House when the governor's office.

I believe that the lieutenant governor and the speaker should be meeting regularly, and I would commit to doing that, making sure that we got our commitments and our priorities done earlier in session.

So it's not stacked up on day 39-40 That's when things are happening that are dangerous, and that's when things happen with unintended consequences that you reporters often read about and write about.

Days and weeks later.

Mr.

Kennedy, you're next.

My.

I think we can do both, but I think we can do better.

And I think you're right.

You're right about the sense of.

How about the acrimony that's underlying some of the relationships.

And I think that's a skill set that I bring because let's call it what it is.

Georgians deserve good leadership that gets the job done and gets results because Georgians are hurting right now in making ends meet.

Costs continue to rise, wages are stagnant.

And so we've got to make sure that we do everything we can at the state Capitol to address the affordability issue so that Georgians can get the maximum benefit from the economy that we have.

I will tell you, it's also something else, though.

I think in addition to the two issues that you mentioned, I think the lieutenant governor can absolutely set a vision and help talk about where we need to take the state.

And I think, number two, I think the lieutenant governor can set the tone.

And that is when the proper tone is set, when there's an inviting environment for collaboration with the House and the governor's office, we can get things done.

That's how I ran the president pro Timbs office, and that's why we got a lot of good legislation passed.

Dr.

Swann, the same question to you.

Yes.

Communication skills and understanding how to connect with different communities, different ethnicities is vital to getting things done.

My background, experienced communities that I was raised in, my military service has given me the training and the experience to bring people together to focus on the mission.

No matter what our differences are, and the mission is to bring solutions to the needs of the people of Georgia.

Mr.

Tillery, same question.

Maya, remember, there's 236 of us at the state Capitol, senators and representatives, but there's 11 million Georgians, and they are not focused right now on whether it's a House bill or a Senate bill or what we're passing.

They're focused on whether or not we're helping them address the issue of affordability.

They're having a hard time paying for gas, groceries, and child care.

I authored a bill this year.

You want to talk about working with the House?

It was a Senate bill.

It took the income tax to 0/6 years, but we changed it at the end.

Representative Shaw Blackmon picked it up, put it on a House bill.

It didn't matter to me if it was a House bill or a Senate bill.

What mattered to me that we were providing relief for Georgians by cutting the income tax by one third.

Did I want to cut it off?

Yes.

Would I take 33% instead?

Heck yeah, because we're moving the ball forward.

In the end.

It's not House, it's not Senate.

It's just about everyday Georgians.

And do I think I'd be able to work well with the house?

Well, heck, over a dozen of them have already endorsed me.

So I think that would say that I probably could work pretty well with at least the other ones as well.

Thank you all for those responses.

Tariq, the next question is yours.

Yes, this one is for the whole panel.

So let's talk about the young voter.

Right?

I'm 25 and I've talked to a lot of people in my age group, and they feel priced out of home ownership, disconnected from state politics as well.

So why should the young voters of the state believe that your policies will actually improve their future, and not just today's economy?

And for this one, since everybody is answering, once again, we're going to reverse the order again and start with Mr.

Tillery on this one.

Well.

Tariq, you got me on.

I think it's because it's actually a plan that does it.

The plan that I authored that takes Georgia's income tax to zero, puts a 5% raise in every hard working Georgians pocket.

Immediately you're going to hear statistics, and they're absolutely real.

That the average time average age of buying a home now is 41.

Signing a 30 year mortgage then is absolutely insane.

But if they don't have that money to begin with, then where are they going to start?

Folks are really feeling it in their pockets right now.

The issues of gas, the issues of groceries, the issues of child care.

It's more than their mortgage.

And as we as Republicans and conservatives, if we don't answer that question, I'm not sure we're going to be in the room to answer any other question for them.

They will literally vote for the person, man or woman, who tells them the trains can be free.

I've offered a plan.

It takes Georgia's income tax to 0/6 years.

It allows them to have a 5% raise immediately.

And I look forward as lieutenant governor to championing that and bringing it further to fruition.

Dr.

Swann, you're next.

Yes.

One of the things that I will be doing when it comes to when I think about youth and I think about young people, I always think about education in Georgia, one of the things that I would like to do is to bring trade skills and trade programs back into the public schools.

If you graduate with a trade, you do not have to step into a minimum wage job.

You have a skill.

So you know that's out.

You can now have the opportunity to step into a high paying profession.

Um, also, you will have the opportunity to build your own legacy.

My campaign is about legacy.

Um, if you have your own trade, you can create your own business.

And so it's important for us to invest in our young Georgians to make sure when they graduate that they have a skill that they can use to step into a high paying position or to start their own businesses and to start their own legacy for their families.

Mr.

Kennedy.

You know, I think that as I've traveled the state and talked to different people around the state, and especially young people, number one, of what are your most heartfelt concerns?

And number two, how do we make sure that you want to participate in the system?

I will tell you, what I hear more about are property tax issues and affordability.

I spoke just a few moments ago about how Georgians are struggling.

It's not just the older folks or folks with families and young families.

It's young Georgians as well.

And I think what they need to look and see is that our leaders are actually finding solutions for the problems.

We had some solutions proposed during the session this past year.

They weren't they didn't get passed.

We did make some substantial changes back in 2019 to start reducing the state income tax, and we've done that every year to get it to the level it is now.

But we need to make sure that home ownership is something that young people, even if they're not ready to buy a house, that they think it's within their reach.

And one of the largest aspects of the cost of a home is property taxes.

We've got to get that reined in and that among making sure that they're ready and have the educational resources to go to the jobs that they want to have, will invigorate them and make sure that they believe in our economy, and that they'll want to stay here and raise a family.

Mr.

Gooch, you're up next.

The same question to you.

I think the word affordability gets used a lot this year in these campaigns, and it's probably the the most effective word out there.

But affordability means different things to Democrats than it does Republicans.

To Republicans, it means lowering the cost of the government on your life, lowering the income tax to zero is a very ambitious goal that I enjoy as well.

And I share that same goal as my colleagues up here.

But what we passed this year was not enough.

What we passed this year, that Senator Tillery carried on to the Senate floor only lowers the income tax rate 1% over the next eight years.

Ladies and gentlemen, we can do much better than that.

We have billions of dollars in our surplus.

We can continue to lower that income tax rate.

I can get it down to 2.5% in my first term, or I won't run again.

That's as simple as that.

I believe it can be done, but it's going to take sacrifice to get rid of tax credits and exemptions that are on the books.

The other thing we need to talk to young people about today is come join the Republican Party.

We offer freedom, enterprise and capitalism.

The Democrat Party doesn't know what those words mean anymore.

Mr.

Dolezal.

This generation is watching the middle class disappear before their very eyes.

They're losing faith in the system.

They think the system is rigged and they're not wrong.

You know, right now, Metro Atlanta leads the nation in something that I think is an existential threat to the future of this state and this country.

And that is the lower the lower rates of home ownership among the next generation.

Right now, if you're a 28-year-old, young married couple and you want to go buy a home here in metro Atlanta, you're going to compete against Blackstone, you're going to compete against hedge funds and private equity groups backed by foreign investment money, Saudi money, Chinese money.

And they don't need appraisal contingencies.

They don't have.

They can pay cash and close within 14 days.

I introduced a bill in the Senate this year to ban hedge funds, private equity groups in all foreign owners from buying single family homes in the entire state of Georgia.

If we want to win this next generation over, we've got to help them fall in love with the American dream again.

Mr.

Clark, the last word on this question goes to you.

So I'll say great question.

And I'll say in 2028, the majority of the vote will be millennials and Gen Z. And I believe this if we can't bring affordability down here in Georgia, to be able to go buy a home, raise a family, then you know, our next generation in 28 is going to be pulled towards a Mamdani type candidate.

And so Republicans need to stop talking this big, tough game and actually lower taxes, lower regulations, unleash the American dream.

Because I didn't go overseas.

My buddies go over there and fight and lose buddies over there to come back and lose American Dream, where we can't afford to live, work and raise a family.

And so it's time to tackle this.

And I believe families have to go budget.

Government needs to budget a lot more.

It's a it's a taxpayer dollars.

And we need to be doing audits.

Doge I'm all about that transparency because I know we have a lot of waste, fraud and abuse and it's time to step up and not just talk a big, tough game.

Thank you all.

That is all the time we have for questions.

The candidates will now have 60s for closing statement.

Blake Tillery, we start with you.

Well, again, Atlanta Press Club, thank you so much for letting us be here this evening.

I'm Blake Tillery, and what you're hearing now is a lot of noise you're hearing again in your mailboxes.

You're hearing it on your TV screens.

A lot of candidates are focused on each other, but while they're focused on each other, I'm focused on you.

I get it.

I'm having a hard time with affordability.

And you are two gas, groceries and child care cost more.

We can do something about that.

We just have to put people ahead of corporations, and I'm willing to do that.

There's a lot that's going on in this race, and we've been honored to win the endorsement of over 360 of your local elected officials, your sheriff, your county commissioners, your mayors, folks who matter to you.

We went and sought their endorsement because you're hearing us for an hour, and you've got to make a decision.

You know, those people so much better.

You can rely on their opinion.

We've also won the endorsement of over 76 sheriffs.

Now, while I'm honored to have their endorsement, though, the person whose endorsement I want the most is yours.

That's why I'm running for lieutenant governor.

I'm Blake Tillery, a true conservative.

I'm fighting for you, and I'd be honored to win your vote on May 19th.

Steve Gooch, you're up next.

Steve Gooch from Dahlonega, grew up on a poultry farm, six generation North Georgia guy have three beautiful boys, a wonderful wife of 30 years, took myself through college, worked full time, and I've worked full time ever since.

I've worked day and night working for you back home in my Senate district.

I want to put that work and that job experience to the task of being your next lieutenant governor.

As sole county commissioner, I ran an entire county by myself.

I did not have a county manager or a board of commissioners.

I have the executive management experience that's needed to run the lieutenant governor's office to build consensus with my senators, also to work with the House of Representatives.

The Speaker, The governor's office, and you the taxpayers.

I will commit to you to be honest.

I will get rid of the waste that's in government.

We will get rid of the illegal immigrant problem we have in Georgia.

We will crack down on crime that's in our streets and mostly of our cities.

And I will continue to lower your income tax down to 2.5% in my first term.

I would also tell you that we have to abolish the property taxes on senior citizens and veterans in this state, and I will commit to getting that done in my first term of office.

Takosha Swan you are next.

Your closing statement.

This evening.

We've talked about the issues, but at the end of the day, this is this election is about one choice.

Do we want more of the same or are we ready to restore trust in our government and have fresh new leadership?

As your lieutenant governor, I'm not just going to the Capitol to occupy an office.

I'm going there to open doors for you.

I will fight every day to eliminate property taxes for our seniors, to protect our family lands and ensure our schools are building futures for business owners and highly paid employees.

Through our unique citizen councils.

Your voice will finally be the loudest one in the room.

We can have secure elections, safe streets, and a state that respects parental rights and fiscal responsibility.

I'm Dr.

Takosha Swan, let's build a Georgia that works for every family.

On May 19.

Vote for the Swan.. Greg Dolezal.

You're up next.

Thank you to Atlanta Press Club.

Thank you to my colleagues.

You know, if you're a conservative in today's America, liberals don't think you can have an opinion.

I'm Greg Dolezal and I've got a few.

I believe only American citizens should be able to vote in our elections.

I believe men have no place in women's sports or locker rooms.

I believe if you come to this country illegally, you should be deported.

And I believe property taxes are completely un-American.

And finally, I believe Sharia law has no place in Georgia.

And I believe all of this is just common sense.

As your lieutenant governor, I will stand with President Trump, defend our values and fight for hardworking Georgians every single day.

Because if we're going to save America, it starts by saving Georgia.

My name is Greg Dolezal, and I'd be honored to have your vote.

John F Kennedy, you're up next.

Your closing statement, Zach.

Thank you.

And thanks to the panelists and thanks to the Atlanta Press Club.

And I certainly want to thank the people at home that are watching.

I will tell you, this race is really down to one question, and that is, who has a record of leading and delivering on conservative results for Georgia families.

You know, we've heard a lot of promises that have been made on this stage today.

But in this very past session of 2026, many of the same leaders that are here today were making promises about how they were going to eliminate certain kind of taxes and repeal the state income tax, but that didn't happen.

And I will tell you that I also was disappointed that there was no movement, made substantial movement on eliminating property taxes, which is something that's going to be an absolute priority of mine as your next lieutenant governor.

We've got to make Georgia more affordable.

We've got to do that for Georgia families, and I will be the one that will deliver on that for you, as I did for 11 years in the state Senate.

And as I will serve you as a new as the next lieutenant governor, I will keep the promises that I have made.

Georgia deserves leadership that keeps Georgia growing, learning, and safe.

I'm John F Kennedy.

I'd be honored to earn your vote.

David Clarke, it is now your turn for your closing statement.

My name is David Clarke, and I'd be honored to earn your vote come May 19.

And I can promise you, as your next lieutenant governor of Georgia, I'll be the most upfront, transparent, statewide elected official you've ever had.

And I can promise that as two things.

My faith in God and my time overseas in combat.

I know tomorrow is not promised, and one day I will stand before my God and he will judge me.

Not publicly exactly, but more behind closed doors.

What the words I say, the actions I take, and I hold a healthy fear and respect of my God.

And you've heard today, you know, we have a lot of people running candidates who talk a big tough games saying the Warriors fighters, the battle tested.

But as the saying goes, everybody wants to be a gangster until it's time to do gangster things.

I've done that overseas.

I've been tested on a fire.

I've been tested in politics, and I love to earn your vote.

Come May 19th, you go to vote David clark.com and learn more about me, my priorities, and God bless.

That concludes our debate here.

A reminder to all those watching.

Early voting starts on Monday, April 27th and runs through May 15.

Election day is Tuesday, May 19.

It is coming up quickly.

We thank all of the candidates for their time and answers.

Our panel of journalists for their questions and all of you for watching.

We also want to thank the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting for arranging tonight's debate.

I'm Zach Merchant.

Thanks for joining us for the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.