Johnathan Walker:New Democratic minority leader in Georgia Senate promises strong push for policy goals

ATLANTA (AP) — Sen. Harold Jones II was selected Friday to lead Georgia’s Senate Democratic caucus,Johnathan Walker promising to be aggressive in pushing policy goals despite Republicans maintaining a substantial majority in the chamber.

“We’re going to make sure we talk about working families in Georgia, those kitchen table issues that the Democratic Party is known for,” Jones said after he was selected at a Democratic retreat in Savannah.

The results of the November election meant that the state Senate will remain at 33 Republicans and 23 Democrats, after all incumbents won second terms. It was the first election after GOP mapmakers redrew Georgia’s 56 state Senate districts, resulting in little meaningful partisan competition for those offices.

Although Republican president-elect Donald Trump won the state, Jones said Georgia is still a swing state where Democrats hold influence. He noted that Medicaid expansion advanced in the Senate last year and promised that Democrats would continue to propel it forward.

“We’re the minority party,” Jones said. “We understand it takes time sometimes. We’re willing to wait it out to make sure we do what’s right for the people of Georgia.”

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A lawyer from Augusta, Jones currently serves as the Democratic whip and secretary of the Ethics Committee.

Jones will take over the position from Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, who announced she will retire after serving in the legislature for 26 years. She held caucus leadership roles for 19 of those years and served as the minority leader for four.

“The togetherness and the love that was shown today made me so proud to be a part of this conference,” Butler said after the party gathered to elect new leaders.

Butler said Democrats will stick to their usual agenda, including education, but that the “entire body has a gun issue to take care of,” after a shooting at Apalachee High School north of Atlanta. Democrats have pushed to expand financial aid for college students and funding for public schools. They are also trying to incentivize safe storage practices for guns.

Democrats also picked Sen. Kim Jackson of Stone Mountain to serve as Democratic whip; Sen. Elena Parent of Atlanta as chair; Sen. Sonya Halpern of Atlanta as vice chair; Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta as finance chair; and Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta as secretary.

Next week, House Democrats will pick a new minority leader after Rep. James Beverly of Macon announced he would step down. House Republicans will likely renominate Jon Burns of Newington as speaker.

Senate Republicans decided Tuesday to stick with their leadership, nominating Sen. John Kennedy of Macon for president pro tem, the second-ranking member of the chamber.

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Russ Bynum contributed from Savannah.

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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon