By Ethan Johnson | ejohnson@cherokeetribune.com
Apr 10, 2026
CANTON — Four Republican candidates looking to become the next governor of Georgia took part in a forum Thursday, meeting and answering questions from the public.
The Cherokee County Republican Women, in partnership with the Cherokee Young Republicans and the Allatoona Young Republicans, hosted the Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Forum Thursday at the historic Cherokee County Courthouse in downtown Canton. Close to 40 people were in attendance.
Attorney General Chris Carr, Clark Dean, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Ken Yasger took part in the forum.
Health care executive Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the two frontrunners in the GOP field according to recent polling, were not in attendance. According to CCRW, they declined to participate.
Representatives for Jackson and Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Georgia’s primary election is May 19.
Carr, who’s served as Georgia’s attorney general since 2016, said Georgia is the “model for the nation” on jobs and safety, and he’s the right candidate for citizens who want to keep it that way.
“I worked for Johnny Isakson for 10 years, which I think is critically important because when Congress doesn’t do things, governors need to be able to handle the issues that the federal government pushes down on us,” he said. “I was a commissioner of economic development under Governor Deal for three years. Governors have to help businesses create jobs. I’ve done it: 84,000 jobs and $14 billion worth of investment which changed and transformed Georgia’s families and our community and state. Government is also supposed to keep people safe. I don’t care your race, gender, your religion, where you live or where you’re from, you deserve to be safe in this state.”
Dean, founder of the Transaction Sciences Group at real estate firm Transwestern, said Georgia deserves leadership and results, and he wants to help the state achieve its full potential.
“For decades I’ve been serving the community and practicing practical leadership in ways that actually makes a difference in people’s lives. I’ve been listening, and I put together this ASAP plan for Georgia that focuses on affordability, strength, accessibility and prosperity for all Georgians as soon as possible,” he said. “When it comes down to affordability, it’s about food grocery affordability, it’s housing affordability, it’s tax policy. For strength, it’s an efficient and effective government. It’s sound energy policy. It’s safe communities. It’s infrastructure. For accessibility it’s education, healthcare and prosperity. I believe we have only started to achieve our potential.”
Raffensperger, who was a state representative before he became Secretary of State in 2018, and is the founder of construction company Tendon Systems, said he is running to make Georgia affordable and safe.
“As I travel around Georgia, I’m hearing that so many people are concerned about the cost of their home, rent, mortgage, cost of gas, healthcare — all issues that are hitting them at the same time. Now they have to worry about what happens when they drop their kids and grandkids off at school. What are they going to learn? Will it be safe when they get there? As your governor, I’m going to make sure we have safe communities and double school safety grants from $50,000 to $100,000 and expand to all schools,” he said. “I want to fully fund law enforcement to make sure we have safe communities. I will always stand for you. I will always stand for Georgia.”
Yasger, a U.S. Army veteran and current member of the Georgia Army National Guard, said he is running because he wants to represent and serve all Georgians.
“Everybody wants to talk about the little guy. The problem is, it’s hard to about this little guy when you’re running against one of them. I still work a real job and I pay my bills,” he said. “I was behind an older Black gentleman at Kroger in downtown Savannah on my way home from work one night. He had a six pack of eggs and a loaf of bread. His card declined. Most of these politicians don’t see that guy. I’m running because that guy still needs a voice. He’s not just a talking point for me. I serve him every day. Whether that’s in the military or the restaurant I work at, I see that person. I know that person. Any decision I make will be made with that person on my mind.”
Affordability and taxesThe four candidates acknowledged that affordability and the cost of living in Georgia are important issues that need to be addressed.
Dean said he’s talked to a lot of Georgians who feel they “can’t afford the life they’re building.” He said his ASAP plan can bring down the cost of government that will then “trickle down” and eliminate a lot of the “red tape” and difficulties that create a lot of costs in the state.
He later said that lifting constraints on various industries, including agriculture and healthcare, can help improve the economy.
“About 40% of what we grow in Georgia goes to waste because we don’t have targeted food processing that could be brought to those communities, creating real jobs in rural Georgia, while at the same time allowing farmers to monetize 40% of their crops. This increases our food supply and reduces the costs of groceries for Georgians,” he said. “These kinds of restraints exist all over the place. We can also create about 25% to 30% more capacity in our healthcare by…identifying constraints in our healthcare, law enforcement, all of these different sectors to actually reduce costs.”
On affordable housing, Dean said it’s important for the governor to work with local governments to address the issue.
Raffensperger said he would cap property taxes for all Georgia property owners, and pursue additional tax relief for seniors: exempt seniors from all non-essential taxes and stop taxing retirement benefits.
“The first thing I want to do is cap property taxes for everyone in the state of Georgia. They’ve gone up so fast because houses at $300,000 in 2020 all of a sudden jumped to $500,000 and there were either no roll backs, or not enough,” he said.
Raffensperger added that as President Donald Trump works to reshore businesses in America, he wants to make sure Georgia is “at the front of the line.”
On affordable housing, he said it’s important to create good-paying jobs and also to allow for workforce housing. He said delays in the permitting process can drive up housing costs.
Yasger said he supports eliminating the state income tax, and also capping property taxes.
“I want the state income tax eliminated for everybody because it’s unconstitutional,” he said. “I want to cut corporate welfare in half, which will give us an extra billion dollars.”
On housing, Yasger said he wants to ban foreign corporations from buying up homes and farmland, and stop out-of-state investors that buy apartment complexes and increase the rent.
Carr said it’s important to provide well-paying jobs for people to be able to live in the state, and to limit property tax increases. He also said the state needs to incentivize the private sector related to housing and get the federal government “out of our business” when it comes to health care.
“You’ve got to have an environment where businesses will hire Georgians to make a great product and provide a great service,” he said. “You’ve got to have conversations with your local governments that are here as well. You’ve got to provide education and services, but there has to be certainty, so people don’t have these 50%, 75% or 150% increases in their property taxes. We need to cap it where it makes sense for our state.”
Carr also said it’s important to offer affordable housing across the state for everyone across all levels. He added that it needs to be a partnership between the state and local communities.
A video of Thursday’s forum is available on the Cherokee County Republican Women’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ccrwga.
