The office:
Secretary of state
Party:
Republican
The lane:
Tim Fleming is leaning on his experience working as Gov. Brian Kemp’s chief of staff. He previously also served as a deputy secretary of state when Kemp was in that office. Fleming’s campaign is in between having Republican establishment experience and the GOP base’s continued distrust of Georgia’s election system.
The basics:
Fleming was first elected to the Georgia House in 2022. During his time in office, he chaired a House committee that reviewed the state’s election procedure and recommended that Georgia move away from a touchscreen voting system toward hand-marked paper ballots.
Why he’s running:
The Covington resident has listed a need for Georgia’s secretary of state to strengthen election security, increase transparency and rebuild confidence among voters who continue to distrust the current voting system.
What’s working:
Fleming has experience in both the executive and legislative branches of government, spending much of his time in the Legislature working on election policy. He received the most votes in May’s five-way primary.
The challenge:
Fleming has to make sure his courtship of the Republican base, much of which is still skeptical of the results of the 2020 presidential election, doesn’t undermine the office he wants to lead.
What to watch:
Despite receiving the most votes in May, Fleming will need to fend off his runoff opponent Vernon Jones, who appeals directly to Donald Trump-aligned voters.
Campaign website: https://www.flemingforga.com/.
