House District 51
GEOGRAPHIC AREA
- County: Fulton County
- Metro Area/Region: Atlanta Area
- Cities/Towns/Areas: Johns Creek, Roswell and Sandy Springs
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
- Population: 53,639
- Median Household Income: $69,000
- Education:
- Completed High School 31.9%
- Completed College/Beyond 63.9%
- Race:
- White 60%
- Black 22.4%
- Hispanic 8.5%
- Asian 6.1%
POLITICAL AREA
- Congressional District(s): GA-6
- GA Senate District: SD 40, SD56
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
| 2016 | Clinton 50.15% | Trump 44.99% | Margin=D+5.2% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Obama 41.99% | Romney 56.48% | Margin=R+14.5% |
DISTRICT ELECTION RESULTS
| Year | Candidate | Percentage | Vote Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wendell Willard (R) |
100% | 19,210 |
| N/A |
N/A | N/A | |
| 2014 | Wendell Willard (R) |
100% | 11,892 |
| N/A |
N/A | N/A | |
| 2012 | Wendell Willard (R) |
100% | 17,036 |
| N/A |
N/A | N/A |
CANDIDATES
- Republican Candidate: Alex Kaufman (R)
- Campaign Website: votealexkaufman.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/StateRepresentativeDistrict51
- Twitter: twitter.com/@StateRepresentativeDistrict51
- Democrat Candidate: Josh McLaurin (D)
- Campaign Website: joshforgeorgia.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?=492063
- Twitter: twitter.com/@JoshforGeorgia
NOTES AND SUMMARY
This is a important and promising district for progressives. Republican Wendell Willard is retiring. Willard has represented these northern Atlanta suburbs for many years and has been an influential legislator, running unopposed for the past three election cycles.
HD 51 has traditionally been a red district, but these educated, suburban voters were turned off by Trump: Romney won by 14.5 percent in 2012, but Clinton took the district by 5 points.
The Democratic candidate is Josh McLaurin, a University of Georgia and Yale Law School educated trial attorney. McLaurin gained name recognition in late 2016 when he filed to run in the SD 6 race that Karen Handel eventually won. Democratic party leaders did not welcome his run as he was an unknown and they feared he would take votes from other Democratic candidates. In early 2017, McLaurin dropped out of that race and endorsed Jon Ossoff. McLaurin became well-known in legal circles in 2014 when he successfully sued the State of Georgia to allow more video recordings during court proceedings. This suit arose out of a documentary McLaurin worked on about the Georgia indigent defense system. McLaurin is pro-Medicaid expansion, criminal justice reform, universal pre-K, public schools, transit solutions, and anti-RFRA (so-called religious freedom act which allows business people to discriminate against LGBT people on religious basis).
The Republican candidate for this seat is another young attorney named Alex Kaufman. Kaufman is an Emory Law graduate and practices business law. He has been active in the Republican party for some time, including as chair of the Fulton County Republican party. He is conservative and his primary areas of focus are business/tax issues.
All statements, answers, and information found within the 159 Georgia Together voter guide were collected via an electronic survey. Due to the sheer volume of information collected and the number of candidates that submitted survey data, all of the information presented in the guide is verbatim per the input from the survey participants (including any spelling or grammatical errors).
Alex Kaufman (R)
TOP 3 PRIORITIES IF ELECTED
No response yet
DO YOU SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PREVENT BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMPLOYERS FROM DENYING SERVICES TO LGBTQ PEOPLE AND OTHERS BASED ON THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ENDING CASH BAIL FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NON-PARTISAN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT AN ENGLISH-ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IF IT WERE ON THE BALLOT?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO FORM A UNION AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY?
No response yet.
DID YOU/DO YOU SUPPORT GUNS ON CAMPUS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ELECTRICITY RATE INCREASES TO COMPLETE TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS AT PLANT VOGTLE?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT CHANGING GEORGIA'S VOTING SYSTEM TO A VOTER-MARKED (PEN OR PENCIL) PAPER BALLOT WITH OPTICAL SCANNERS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF EARLY VOTING?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT PUBLIC VOUCHERS BEING USED FOR PRIVATE AND/OR CHARTER SCHOOLS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT MEDICAID EXPANSION OR ANOTHER GEORGIA-SPECIFIC PLAN TO EXTEND HEALTH INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME GEORGIANS?
No response yet.
WILL YOU SUPPORT POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT INCREASE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION, AND OPPOSE POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT LIMIT OR REDUCE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES AND PUT THE PROGRAM ON A MORE STABLE FISCAL PATH?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT A LIVABLE WAGE OF A MINIMUM OF $15 PER HOUR?
No response yet.
Josh McLaurin (D)
TOP 3 PRIORITIES IF ELECTED
No response yet
DO YOU SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PREVENT BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMPLOYERS FROM DENYING SERVICES TO LGBTQ PEOPLE AND OTHERS BASED ON THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ENDING CASH BAIL FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NON-PARTISAN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT AN ENGLISH-ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IF IT WERE ON THE BALLOT?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO FORM A UNION AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY?
No response yet.
DID YOU/DO YOU SUPPORT GUNS ON CAMPUS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ELECTRICITY RATE INCREASES TO COMPLETE TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS AT PLANT VOGTLE?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT CHANGING GEORGIA'S VOTING SYSTEM TO A VOTER-MARKED (PEN OR PENCIL) PAPER BALLOT WITH OPTICAL SCANNERS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF EARLY VOTING?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT PUBLIC VOUCHERS BEING USED FOR PRIVATE AND/OR CHARTER SCHOOLS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT MEDICAID EXPANSION OR ANOTHER GEORGIA-SPECIFIC PLAN TO EXTEND HEALTH INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME GEORGIANS?
No response yet.
WILL YOU SUPPORT POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT INCREASE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION, AND OPPOSE POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT LIMIT OR REDUCE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES AND PUT THE PROGRAM ON A MORE STABLE FISCAL PATH?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT A LIVABLE WAGE OF A MINIMUM OF $15 PER HOUR?
No response yet.