Columbus, Georgia

The Republican Caucus met for both the House and Senate Chambers over the last

two days to elect leaders for the upcoming session. This is significant

especially in the Senate since this is the first time that the majority party

in the state Senate is the Republican party. The new leaders are listed below.

Republican House Caucus:

The caucus passed a motion to not elect nominees for House Speaker or Speaker

Pro-tempore until a later date. The positions they did elect were as follows:

Minority Leader: Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg. Westmoreland is a Builder

in Coweta County and was first elected in 1992 to the House. Westmoreland was

previously the Minority Leader in the House, and served on the Appropriations,

Ethics, Industry, Rules, and the Reapportionment Committee.

Minority Whip: Jerry Keen of St. Simons Island. Keen is an

Insurance/Investment broker in Glynn County. Keen previously served on the

Insurance, Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, and Game, Fish, & Parks Committee.

Caucus Chair: Sharon Cooper of Marietta. Cooper is a Nurse/Administrator in

Cobb County. Cooper served on the Higher Education, Industry, and Natural

Resources Committee.



Republican Senate Caucus:

President Pro-tempore: Eric Johnson of Savannah. Johnson is an Engineer in

Chatham County and was first elected to the Senate in 1994 after serving a term

in the Ga House. Johnson was previously the Senate Minority Leader and was a

member of the Appropriations, Finance & Public Utilities, Transportation, and

Rules Committee.

Majority Leader: Tom Price of Roswell. Price is a Physician in North Fulton

County, and was first elected in 1996. Price previously served as a member of

Education, Reapportionment, Health and Human Services, and the Rules committee.

Majority Whip: Mitch Seabaugh of Sharpsburg. Seabaugh is a CPA in Coweta

County and was first elected in 2000. Seabaugh was a member of Agriculture,

Insurance & Labor, and Special Judiciary.

Caucus Chair: Don Balfour of Snellville. Balfour is an Executive with Waffle

House and was first elected in 1992. Balfour previously was a member of

Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Higher Education, and

Insurance and Labor Committee.

Caucus Vice-Chair: Tommie Williams of Lyons. Williams is a Businessman in

Toombs County and was elected in 1999. Williams served as a member of

Agriculture, Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Health & Human

Services, and Higher Education Committee.





Jonathan B. Pannell

Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group LLC

Bank of America Plaza, Suite 5200

600 Peachtree Street, N.E.

Atlanta, Georgia 30308

(404) 879-6503