by Could Houston be sent to Washington by Georgia?
Republican state representative Houston Gaines of Athens declared his intention to run for Congress on Thursday, hoping to unseat Congressman Mike Collins, who is vying for the U.S. Senate.
Gaines was first elected in 2018 and serves parts of more conservative Barrow, Jackson, and Oconee counties as well as liberal Clarke County, which is home to the University of Georgia. The 30-year-old will inherit Congressional District 10, which extends further into central Georgia and west into a portion of metro Atlanta, if he wins the election in November of next year.
Gaines serves as the vice chair of both the House Appropriations Committee and the House GOP caucus.
In a statement declaring his candidacy, Gaines said, “I’ve been fighting the far left on the front lines in Georgia, and now it’s time to take the fight to D.C. and help President Trump continue to deliver for the American people.”
In response to the social justice movement that followed George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the Athens native fought for legislation that targeted so-called sanctuary cities in the wake of Laken Riley’s 2024 murder on the UGA campus and to punish cities that cut police expenditures.
Gaines’ campaign has almost $900,000 in cash on hand, according to his most recent financial declaration to the Georgia State Ethics Commission.
Gaines is a formidable candidate and the first Republican to declare for the position, but since there isn’t an incumbent, the field may get crowded.
Athens-based Democrat Lexy Doherty, a 2024 challenger to Collins, declared her candidacy in May on a platform that prioritized affordability and preserving public services.
Without the benefit of incumbent status, Collins defeated Democrat Tabitha Johnson-Green in 2022 and defeated Doherty 63% to 34% last year, tipping the district in favor of a Republican.
