Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr visited Statesboro last week in his campaign for governor. One thing that sets him apart from some other contenders is that he doesn't propose eliminating the state income tax because, he argues, doing so would shift the burden to sales tax and other taxes.
Attorney general since November 2016, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Nathan Deal to fill an unexpired term, Carr has since won elections against challengers in 2018 and 2022. Previously, he was commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, appointed by Deal, 2013-2016, and before that chief of staff to the late Sen. Johnny Isakson for six years.
Now 53, Carr is one of three current statewide office holders who are announced candidates in the 2026 primary race for the Republican nomination. The others are Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. It's a wide-open race since Gov. Brian Kemp is now in his seventh year in office and limited to two four-year terms.
Carr talked to supporters and other interested citizens who showed up for a late-afternoon reception-style gathering Wednesday, Sept. 24, in a room at the Saucy Shrimp restaurant. In his remarks, he invoked the legacy of Deal and Isakson as having helped make Georgia a "model for the nation" in two areas where he said he works to continue that legacy.
"That's why I'm running," Carr said. "We're the model for the nation as it relates to jobs and safety."
When he asserted that "what Governor Kemp has done has really put all of that on steroids," Carr also made clear that he isn't running away from his history of working with the current governor.
"It's nothing short of really remarkable, what he's done to focus on those two issue areas, and I'm proud to have stood with him, and I'll tell you, I'm the only candidate who's going to be running for governor that is going to stand on the legacy that he has built on jobs and safety," said Carr.
Work force issues
In context of "work force" issues, he said he would "focus on literacy from birth to 5 because you've got to be able to learn to read by the third grade so that you can read to learn after and ultimately get a good job."
Carr also expressed support for restoring the status of vocational education – he called it "shop" – in high schools.
"I think everybody should go to (a university) that wants to, but by God, you can make a great living and you can do a great service for our nation and our state if you can weld, if you can be an electrician, a plumber, or whatever, a long-distance truck driver," Carr said. "We've got a lot of needs."
It was also in the context of "jobs" that he talked about taxes.
"We've got to make sure that we have the lowest tax burden of any state in the Southeast," Carr said. "Now to me, that is income, sales, property, regulation and others."
Tax policy ideas
Property taxes, he observed, are a big issue around the state, "a local issue with a statewide impact."
"There's got to be a way to be able to sit down and talk about capping that, so that it makes sense, so that we can remain competitive, and when you sell your house it goes back into reset, Carr said.
One possibility, he suggests, could be limiting the amount property taxes can rise because of real estate inflation to the lower of 2% or the national Consumer Price Index inflation rate. After passage of a statewide referendum, Georgia now has a law along these lines, but it so far applies only to owner-occupied homes, and some local opting out is allowed.
$18 billion gap
"But I'll tell you, there's going to be some folks who're going to say they can just do away with the income tax," Carr said. "Let me tell you, that's an $18 billion to $20 billion hole in the budget that there will be one way that they can fill it, tax you. Ninety percent of Georgians will have to be taxed on groceries and when you use a lawyer or when you use an accountant. It just doesn't work."
In a follow-up interview, he said he believes the state income tax can be lowered further, but not eliminated completely. During Kemp's tenure, the rate has been reduced from 6% to 5.19%, and a proposal is pending to reduce it to 4.99% next year.
"I am not running for governor to raise taxes; I am not going to raise taxes," Carr said. "I think we can continue to lower income tax, and I think over time we could target 3 percent. I think we should be looking at sales tax and what the impact is there, but property tax as well."
From his previous stint as economic development commissioner, Carr says he "loved helping companies create 84,000 jobs and billions of dollars worth of investment."
He attained his Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Georgia and then his Juris Doctor at the UGA School of Law. As attorney general, Carr heads the state Department of Law.
"One of the things I'll be most proud of …. we have transformed the Department of Law from a civil practice to a very effective criminal practice," he said.
He first worked with Deal and the Legislature to get authority for the department to address "domestic terrorism," Carr said. During Kemp's term, Carr has worked with the governor and legislators to establish special units to investigate and prosecute human trafficking, gangs and most recently "organized retail theft."