Georgia Attorney General race: Sen. Bill Cowsert announces campaign
ATLANTA - A high-profile state lawmaker with deep ties to Georgia politics is making a bid for the state's top legal post, signaling a contentious Republican primary ahead, according to The Associated Press.
What we know
Georgia state Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens officially announced Wednesday that he's running for state attorney general in 2026. The long-serving Republican becomes the second in his party to jump into the race, following state Sen. Brian Strickland of McDonough, who filed campaign paperwork earlier this year. The seat is opening up because current Attorney General Chris Carr plans to run for governor.
RELATED: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr launches Republican bid in 2026 governor's race
Cowsert, a fixture in the state Senate since 2007, represents parts of Athens-Clarke, Oconee, Walton, Barrow, and Gwinnett counties. He previously served four years as Senate majority leader and is the brother-in-law of Gov. Brian Kemp. His announcement marks another step in a growing field of state lawmakers eyeing higher office—at least nine of Georgia's 56 senators are said to be considering such moves ahead of the 2026 election.
What they're saying
In a sharply worded campaign announcement, Cowsert positioned himself as a law-and-order candidate focused on high-profile issues such as immigration and drug trafficking.
"I envision a Georgia where our families are safe, and illegal immigrants, sex traffickers, violent gangs and fentanyl pushers are too afraid to cross the state line," he said.
Cowsert also said, "Let me be clear. I will use every power allowed by law to slam the door shut on sanctuary cities like my hometown of Athens."
Dig deeper
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was killed in February 2024 while jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens. A Venezuelan immigrant – Jose Ibarra -- who entered the United States illegally was sentenced to life in prison last year for her muder. Riley's murder by Ibarra became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during the 2024 presidential election.
Cowsert also highlighted his leadership role on a Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her prosecution of President Donald Trump. The inquiry, which has garnered considerable attention, has so far produced little new information about Willis or her decision to appoint Nathan Wade—who was in a personal relationship with her—as a special prosecutor. Willis was disqualified last year from prosecuting the case against Trump and his co-defendants because of misconduct. She has appealed that ruling.
A bill sponsored by Cowsert this year expanded the Senate committee's scope so that it can examine groups affiliated with Stacey Abrams and the New Georgia Project, which settled long-running ethics allegations in January.
RELATED STORIES
Georgia Senate committee to reissue subpoena for DA Fani Willis in Trump election probe
Georgia Senate probes Stacey Abrams' New Georgia Project
Georgia Senate committee investigating Fani Willis probes use of special purpose juries
The backstory
Traditionally, the attorney general's office has focused on representing the state in legal matters, but in recent years its scope has expanded to include greater powers in criminal prosecution. That shift has redefined the political appeal of the position and drawn interest from lawmakers with more aggressive agendas.
Cowsert's campaign leans into this evolution, framing the office as a platform to take on what he describes as threats to public safety and state sovereignty.
By the numbers
2 Republicans now in the race for Georgia attorney general
9 state senators reportedly exploring bids for higher office in 2026
1 open attorney general seat, as Chris Carr pivots to a gubernatorial run
What we don't know
No Democrats have announced a run for attorney general, leaving the potential for a lopsided or uncontested Democratic primary. It also remains unclear how Cowsert's close relationship with Gov. Kemp might influence voter perception or intra-party dynamics.
What's next
With more than a year to go before the 2026 election, the attorney general's race is just beginning to take shape. As campaigns ramp up, more candidates—particularly from the Democratic side—are expected to enter the race. The early Republican competition sets the stage for a high-stakes primary battle centered on law enforcement and state authority.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' Would Slash Medicaid & SNAP: 3 Moves Retirees Should Make Now
President Donald Trump's 'one big beautiful bill' has passed in the House and is now awaiting Senate approval. If passed, Trump's signature bill would extend the tax cuts granted by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and add additional tax cuts. While this might be welcome news to many, the bill also includes changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could threaten seniors' access to these programs. Find Out: Read Next: 'The 'one big beautiful bill' passed by the House of Representatives, if it were passed into law today, would cut Medicaid and SNAP by a combined $1 trillion,' said Chris Orestis, president of Retirement Genius. 'In addition, because of the increase to federal debt of as much as $5 trillion, the bill would trigger an automatic reduction in Medicare funding of $500 billion,' he continued. 'This would represent the largest cut to social services and health insurance for the poor, disabled, children and the elderly in U.S. history.' Here's a look at the changes retirees can make now to secure care and avoid benefit disruptions if the bill were to pass. Before changes go into effect, check with your healthcare providers to ensure there won't be any interruption to your care if there are cuts to Medicaid. 'Check with your healthcare provider to see if they might cut back on services or cease accepting Medicaid-funded patients, and contact any nursing home where you or a loved one may reside to find out if they will be reducing the number of patients they can support — or even [if they are] possibly planning to close,' Orestis said. Knowing this ahead of time will allow you to find alternative care providers before it's too late. Learn More: If you are reliant on SNAP, start searching for alternatives that may be able to provide food assistance in the event your benefits are reduced or cut. 'Make sure you know where there are local support services through community or faith-based organizations to replace lost access through SNAP,' Orestis said. Many retirees plan to 'spend down' their savings so that they qualify for Medicaid to pay for their long-term care. However, this may no longer be a viable option. 'If you are considering going onto Medicaid for long-term care and are preparing to engage the 'spend down' process to impoverish yourself and get below the poverty level to qualify, you may want to reconsider that strategy, and instead look to leverage private pay resources to pay for your care,' Orestis said. 'If you are on Medicaid, you will primarily be reliant on nursing homes for your care, and their ability to withstand these cuts will be very challenging and up in the air,' he continued. 'If you are private pay, you are in control and can decide where and when you will receive care, such as at home or an assisted living community not funded by Medicaid.' Strategies to stay private pay for long-term care would include long-term care insurance, annuities, a life insurance settlement, a reverse mortgage or VA benefits. Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates Clever Ways To Save Money That Actually Work in 2025 This article originally appeared on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Would Slash Medicaid & SNAP: 3 Moves Retirees Should Make Now
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
GOP Senators' Competing Demands Risk Pulling Trump Megabill Apart
WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) is trying to release this week a revised version of President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' But as he races to pass the legislation ahead of Republicans' self-imposed July 4 deadline, he has got about as many problems as there are GOP senators, with lawmakers battling over the additional borrowing and spending cuts that will be used to finance tax relief, plus spending on the border and military.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Horse trading session has arrived at N.H. State House
Both the New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate worked late into the night Thursday as they tried desperately to revive bills that the other branch didn't want. The political game of chicken is expected to continue this week when the two bodies return to session to create committees of conference that will be charged with trying to work out differences between competing versions of a bill. This stage in the budget process signals that the 2025 session, barring a negotiating meltdown, will conclude in the coming weeks. Once named, the conference committees will have until June 19 to come up with an agreement that the Legislature must act upon by June 26. Both bodies must vote to create these panels with three state senators and four House members. Any agreement requires all conferees to sign onto the proposal; it then returns to the House and Senate for an up-or-down vote, meaning lawmakers at that final meeting are unable to amend it in any fashion. The two-year state budget is the biggest and most consequential of the disputes, with the Senate last week approving its measure that spent nearly $250 million more than the House-approved version. All of this one-upmanship resulted in some strange bedfellows, like when the Senate voted to add to a bill increasing the penalty for wrong-way driving (HB 776) and a Senate-passed bill to declare the Virginia opossum the state marsupial (SB 30). Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, thanked his colleagues for this act taken because the House put his own bill at risk when, earlier this month, it had tacked onto it new penalties for improper application of fertilizer. Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth couldn't resist a punning quip. 'I'm glad the senator from Dist. 10 (Fenton) has not played dead on his bill,' she joked. The House responded last week, adding to a bill raising the personal allowance that residents of nursing homes are allowed to keep (SB 118) the House-passed bill that would allow medically eligible patients to grow their own marijuana rather than have to buy it at alternative treatment centers at market costs. House keeps pushing cannabis agenda Rep. Gary Daniels, R-Milford, tried to convince his colleagues to drop this last-ditch effort. 'The Senate has rejected every single cannabis bill the House has sent it. Do we really want to put a good bill at risk by insisting this be included?' Daniels asked rhetorically. Rep. Wendy Thomas, D-Merrimack, a cancer survivor, said as an eligible patient she takes marijuana every day and that the underlying personal allowance issue is already contained in versions of the state budget. The House voted 215-103 to keep the marijuana bill as part of the House position. Not all of these gambits succeeded. Rep. Judy Aron, R-Acworth and chairman of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee, had wanted to add to legislation that designated Coos County as an economically distressed area to (SB 180), an unrelated bill from her committee to enhance state rules regarding the approval of future landfills that the Senate had rejected (HB 707). The House voted 166-163 against that idea, choosing to keep the Coos County economic bill clean. In one of its last moves, the Senate voted to add onto a temporary youth operator driver's license bill (HB 612) its legislation to declare the third week in September each year "New Hampshire Service Dog Week." Moments earlier, the House had voted, 179-144, to kill that service dog bill (SB 198). "We don't need a special holiday in order to say, 'Good dog,'" said Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry. Here are some other issues that are likely to need more negotiation before they are settled: • Mandatory Minimums (SB 14): This Gov. Kelly Ayotte-priority bill that cleared the Senate set stiff mandatory prison terms for offenders selling large amounts of fentanyl and for anyone convicted of selling drugs that causes someone else's death. The House changed it to give a judge broad latitude to approve a lesser punishment if the offender meets certain criteria. The House also added to this bill a measure the Senate rejected to decriminalize possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of psilocybin, otherwise known as magic mushrooms. This change would bring the mushrooms in line with how state law decriminalizes marijuana possession. • Risk Pools (SB 297): Secretary of State David Scanlan convinced the Senate to adopt a bill that gave his office greater power over groups that manage insurance coverage for units of government. The House instead rejected Scanlan's approach in favor of letting these risk pools decide if they would rather come under the regulation of the Insurance Department. • Tenancy Law Changes (HB 60): The House approved this bill that would permit landlords to give notice to any tenant 60 days notice that they would not be extending their lease and require tenants be evicted if they resisted this move. The Senate adopted this proposal but it would only kick in once the state had a 4% vacancy rate; currently this tight housing market has less than one-half of 1% vacancy in it. klandrigan@
