Gary Black to challenge Raphael Warnock for U.S. Senate seat

JEKYLL ISLAND — Gary Black, Georgia’s Agriculture Commissioner who received more votes than any candidate for U.S. Senate or Governor in 2018 and 2014, has launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Raphael Warnock.

“Warnock and Biden promised to ‘fundamentally change America,’” Black said. “They’re five months into it, and job growth and opportunity are down, inflation, debt and gas prices are up, the Middle East is back at war. Satisfied? Or sickened? I fundamentally object. I’ll stand in the gap and say the wave comes this far, and no farther.”

A long-time champion of agribusiness — Georgia’s largest economic driver — Black has made the “Georgia Grown” brand one of the most successful marketing efforts of its kind in the nation.

Black was a founding member of President Trump’s rural and agriculture advisory group started in June of 2016. He also hosted Trump in a visit with Georgia farmers hit hard by Hurricane Michael and worked with the administration to utilize China tariff money on expanded marketing efforts in Taiwan. He was a vocal backer of Congressman Doug Collins’ Senate campaign last year.

Black has championed innovation, solutions, support, and growth in Georgia’s largest industry for more than 40 years.

He grew up on his family’s beef cattle farm in Commerce, where he and his wife, Lydia, also raised their children, Ward and Caroline. He is a University of Georgia graduate and a past president of the college’s alumni society.

Under Black’s leadership, the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s divisions for information technology, animal health, homeland security and food safety have garnered national acclaim. He has led innovation in domestic and international promotion through the renowned Georgia Grown branding program, helping Georgians start businesses and expand markets. Since taking office in 2011, Black has also improved the department’s fiscal responsibility and performance, as well as strengthened career paths for employees.

File Photo: Carlton Fletcher