ATLANTA — Georgia will have a new lieutenant governor in 2023 after Geoff Duncan decided not to run for re-election.

Republican Burt Jones, Democrat Charlie Bailey and Libertarian Ryan Graham are running to succeed Duncan.

The lieutenant governor serves as president of the Georgia Senate and has a role in assigning senators to the chamber’s committees.

Burt Jones (R)

Burt Jones is a native of Jackson, Georgia, and works with his family’s business, Jones Petroleum. Jones also founded JP Capital & Insurance, Inc., a risk-management company specializing in retail insurance brokerage.

Jones was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2012, serving in Georgia’s 25th District. He serves as chairman of the Insurance and Labor Committee, and is secretary of the Rules Committee. He is also a member of the Appropriations and Transportation committees.

Jones has campaigned on eliminating the state income tax and increasing “election integrity.”

Jones has been identified as a target by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in an investigation into his role as a fake elector in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election. Jones successfully petitioned the court to block Willis, who hosted a campaign fundraiser for his challenger, Charlie Bailey, in June, and her office from investigating him.

Before his business career, Jones was a student-athlete and a four-year letterman for the University of Georgia football team. As a former walk-on, Jones was elected permanent team captain for the 2002 season, helping to steer the team to its first SEC Championship in 20 years.

Jones is married to his wife, Jan, and has two children, Stella and Banks.

Candidate Website: burtjonesforga.com/

Charlie Bailey (D)

Charlie Bailey is running on the Democratic ticket to become Georgia’s next lieutenant governor.

Bailey, an Atlanta attorney who ran for attorney general in 2018, has focused his campaign on improving school safety and expanding Medicaid, the public health program that provides care to the poor and disabled.

Bailey grew up on a farm in Harris County that has been in his family for 100 years. He moved to the Atlanta area about 12 years ago.

Bailey previously served as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County and now works as a partner at a private law firm. He initially planned to make a second attempt for the attorney general’s office but said he was persuaded by senior Democrats in January to switch to the lieutenant governor race.

Bailey’s opponent, Burt Jones, has been targeting Bailey after it was learned he was arrested for DUI in 2011. According to police and court documents, Bailey was pulled over late on May 5, 2011, in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta for what police said was an “inoperable” brake light. Police said in an incident report that Bailey smelled of alcohol. He refused a field sobriety test or to take a breath test to determine his blood alcohol level and was arrested.

Bailey was released on a $1,100 bond and pleaded guilty to reckless driving, a misdemeanor, about three weeks later. He was sentenced to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service and attendance at a panel hosted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Bailey says he is an eighth-generation rural Georgian and UGA graduate.

Candidate website: charlieforgeorgia.com/

Candidate Access

Candidate Access: Burt Jones, Republican candidate for Lt. Governor

Candidate Access: Ryan Graham, Libertarian candidate for Georgia Lt. Governor

(Note: Charlie Bailey did not to participate in WSB-TV candidate access)

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