(
Georgia Recorder
) — State Sen. Brian Strickland, a McDonough Republican, launched his campaign for attorney general on Tuesday, vowing to fight crime and defend what he calls Georgia’s conservative values.
Strickland joins veteran Athens Republican
state Sen. Bill Cowsert
as the two Republican attorney general candidates currently in the running for next year’s May primary.
So far, no Democratic candidate has announced a run to replace Republican Attorney General Chris Carr, who is stepping down to run for governor after serving as the state’s top prosecutor for nearly a decade. Georgia’s attorney general also serves as the legal adviser for the governor, state boards and agencies and represents the state in civil cases.
Strickland, an attorney, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees bills dealing with litigation, courts and other judicial issues. He served in the state House from 2013 to 2017 before being elected to the Senate, where he represents Morgan County and sections of Henry, Walton and Newton counties.
In this year’s legislative session, Strickland sponsored a tax credit bill intended to save families money on
child care expenses
. Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Strickland’s measure to streamline
jail-based competency tests
that determine if a person is legally able to stand trial.
Strickland described himself Tuesday as a right-wing politician who has a strong record of winning legislative seats despite strong opposition. He said that as attorney general, he would defend the state against activist-funded lawsuits seeking to overturn GOP cultural policies. Strickland also highlighted his support for mental health reform.
Strickland said he would continue efforts under Carr to combat human trafficking and other organized crimes and flaunted GOP electoral and legislative wins.
“The best part is we didn’t just talk tough on the campaign trail,” Strickland said. “We win big elections. We came up here to the state Capitol and we fought for conservative policies and won conservative big policies here at the state Capitol. I’m proud of my record up here, things such as election integrity, the heartbeat bill, constitutional carry, mental health reform. I was able to come in and also fight against organized crime in our state.”
Strickland said he disagreed with some pushback from Democratic lawmakers that the Republican legislators in recent years have been rolling back some of the criminal justice reforms that began under former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Strickland said the recent focus in the Legislature has been on mental health resources to help people stay out of the criminal justice system.
“It is more affordable to help people get out of the system of crime and deal with mental health and get back into society,” Strickland said. “It’s great for the taxpayers. It’s also great for the people involved and the families involved.”
Still, he characterized himself as a conservative fighter dedicated to issues that could be likely to resonate with a conservative primary electorate.
“Our values are under siege from every direction. It’s not just about crime or corruption anymore—it’s DEI mandates in schools, gender ideology in girls’ sports, and prosecutors who refuse to enforce the law,” Strickland said. “We need an attorney general who won’t blink. That’s me.”
