Wednesday, October 1, 2025–10:15 a.m.
-Staff reports-
The race for Lt. Governor is already heating up, although we are more than 7 months away from the May Primary.
Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery is seeking the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor in a crowded field that also includes Georgia Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy, Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, and State Representative David Clark.
Tillery, who was a guest on Wednesday’s First News with Doug Walker, represents the Vidalia area but has ties to Rome.
“My grandparents lived off of Couper Street off of North Avenue and North Broad, so I tell you, calling in this morning and dialing a 291 prefix was a little nostalgic,” he said.
Tillery is campaigning on the elimination of the state’s income tax.
“You can’t do it all at once, but you don’t have to wait 20 years,” he said. “I think that’s what people want to see, they want to see a plan to do that. We’ve seen Tennessee, not too far away from your home, figure out a way to do it. Obviously, we’ve seen Florida, not too far from my home, figure out a way to do it. North Carolina is doing it too. Look, when you are at a point right now where families in Floyd County are feeling the crunch on groceries and feeling the crunch on childcare, especially, and feeling the pain at the pump, then this is something that we can do. The most money that the state takes from the taxpayers is income tax. So, we can give everyone a five percent raise if we can figure out what our neighboring states have done. Luckily, since I have chaired the budget for several years, I can show you how to do it.”
You can listen to the entire interview above.