John Wilkinson

John Wilkinson

Republican Party

Prior offices

Georgia State Senate District 50

Successor: Bo Hatchett

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Elections and appointments

Last election

June 9, 2020

Personal

Profession

Educator/Farmer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

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John Wilkinson (Republican Party) was a member of the Georgia State Senate, representing District 50. He assumed office in 2011. He left office on January 10, 2021.

Wilkinson (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia's 9th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 9, 2020.

Biography

John Wilkinson was born in Toccoa, GA. He earned both a bachelor's degree in agriculture and an M.Ed. from the University of Georgia in 1977 and 1982 respectively. Wilkinson's career experience includes working as a program manager in agricultural education at the Georgia Department of Education and the executive secretary of the Future Farmers of America Association with the Georgia Department of Education. The Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education named him "Policy Maker of the Year" and the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Science awarded him with an "Award of Excellence." Wilkinson was elected to state senate in 2017.

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Wilkinson was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, Chairman
• Education and Youth Committee, Vice Chairman
• Natural Resources and the Environment Committee
• Senate Rules Committee, Ex-Officio

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2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Wilkinson served on the following committees:

Georgia committee assignments, 2015
• Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Chair
• Appropriations
• Education and Youth, Vice chair
• Natural Resources and the Environment

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Wilkinson served on the following committees:

Georgia committee assignments, 2013
• Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Chair
• Education and Youth, Vice Chair
• Appropriations
• Government Oversight

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2020

See also: Georgia's 9th Congressional District election, 2020

Georgia's 9th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

Georgia's 9th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 9

Andrew Clyde defeated Devin Pandy in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 9 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Clyde (R)	78.6	292,750
		Devin Pandy (D)	21.4	79,797

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 372,547
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 9

Devin Pandy defeated Brooke Siskin in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 9 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Devin Pandy	68.5	8,019
		Brooke Siskin	31.5	3,692

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,711 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 9

Andrew Clyde defeated Matt Gurtler in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 9 on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andrew Clyde	56.3	50,095
		Matt Gurtler	43.7	38,866

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,961 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 9

Brooke Siskin and Devin Pandy advanced to a runoff. They defeated Dan Wilson in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 9 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brooke Siskin	41.2	12,861
✔		Devin Pandy	33.6	10,476
		Dan Wilson	25.2	7,874

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,211
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Antwon Stephens (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 9

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 9 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Gurtler	21.0	29,426
✔		Andrew Clyde	18.5	25,914
		Kevin Tanner	15.8	22,187
		Paul C. Broun	13.3	18,627
		John Wilkinson	11.6	16,314
		Ethan Underwood	8.6	12,117
		Kellie Weeks	4.6	6,422
		Maria Strickland	3.5	4,871
		Michael Boggus	3.2	4,497

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 140,375
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tyler Tolin (R)

2018

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 50

Incumbent John Wilkinson won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 50 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Wilkinson (R)	100.0	58,971

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,971 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 50

Incumbent John Wilkinson advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 50 on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Wilkinson	100.0	16,118

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 16,118
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Georgia State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.

Incumbent John Wilkinson ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 50 general election.

Georgia State Senate, District 50 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Wilkinson Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	61,180
Total Votes				61,180
Source: Georgia Secretary of State

Incumbent John Wilkinson defeated Roy Benifield in the Georgia State Senate District 50 Republican primary.

Georgia State Senate, District 50 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Wilkinson Incumbent	69.62%	17,712
	Republican	Roy Benifield	30.38%	7,729
Total Votes				25,441

2014

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Georgia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with a runoff election taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent John K. Wilkinson was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.

2012

See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2012

Wilkinson ran in the 2012 election for Georgia State Senate District 50. Wilkinson ran unopposed in the Republican primary on July 31, 2012. No Democratic candidate filed to run for this seat. The general election took place on November 6, 2012. Wilkinson ran unopposed in the general election.

Georgia State Senate, District 50, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Wilkinson Incumbent	100%	53,667
Total Votes				53,667

2011

See also: State legislative special elections, 2011; Resign-to-run law

On November 8, Wilkinson faced fellow Republicans Rick Austin, Curtis Burger, and David Strickland as well as Democrat Mary Beth Focer. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, the top two vote getters--Austin and Wilkinson--proceeded to a runoff election on December 6 where Austin was defeated.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Wilkinson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Wilkinson's campaign website stated the following:

“	This is a critical time for our country, and we need an experienced, conservative voice willing to stand up for the values that residents of North Georgia hold dear. For the past eight years in Atlanta, I have fought to eliminate useless red tape and regulation of business, defended the sanctity of all life, and fought for our constitutional rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment. I look forward to continuing that fight in Washington.	”
—Wilkinson's campaign website (2020)

2016

Wilkinson's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

Protect the traditional, conservative values we hold dear Grow jobs by promoting business friendly policies Equip parents and teachers to provide children with a world class education Protect jobs for Georgians Protect our water resources. Water = Jobs Protect our American freedoms and the rights of the unborn.

”

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Wilkinson campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2020	U.S. House Georgia District 9	Lost primary	$174,743	$174,743
2018	Georgia State Senate District 50	Won general	$116,735	N/A**
2016	Georgia State Senate, District 50	Won	$194,847	N/A**
2014	Georgia State Senate, District 50	Won	$56,430	N/A**
2012	Georgia State Senate, District 50	Won	$23,550	N/A**
2011	Georgia State Senate, District 50	Won	$68,810	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Georgia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].

2020

In 2020, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 26. The session was suspended from March 13 through June 11.

• Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

• Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• Georgia Environment

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 14 through April 2. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29. Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Georgia Center for Opportunity Legislators are scored on their votes on children's education. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through March 31. Americans for Prosperity Georgia Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Georgia Center for Opportunity Legislators are scored on their votes on children's education. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Georgia Environment Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through March 24. Americans for Prosperity Georgia Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Georgia National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].
In 2013, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].
In 2012, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 29. Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Noteworthy events

Decision to self-quarantine for coronavirus on March 19, 2020

See also: Political incumbents, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with COVID-19 or quarantined due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020

Wilkinson, along with his Georgia State Senate colleagues, entered self-quarantine after State Sen. Brandon Beach tested positive for coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic
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See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• John Wilkinson, Campaign site
• John Wilkinson on Facebook
• John Wilkinson on Twitter
• John Wilkinson on Linkedin
• Profile from Open States
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2011

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jim Butterworth	Georgia State Senate - District 50 2011-2021	Succeeded by Bo Hatchett (R)

[show]

Georgia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jon Ossoff (D)

Raphael Warnock (D)

Representatives

District 1

Earl Carter (R)

District 2

Sanford Bishop (D)

District 3

Drew Ferguson (R)

District 4

Hank Johnson (D)

District 5

Nikema Williams (D)

District 6

Rich McCormick (R)

District 7

Lucy McBath (D)

District 8

Austin Scott (R)

District 9

Andrew Clyde (R)

District 10

Mike Collins (R)

District 11

Barry Loudermilk (R)

District 12

Rick Allen (R)

District 13

David Scott (D)

District 14

Marjorie Greene (R)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (7)