Brenda Nelson-Porter
Brenda Nelson-Porter (Republican Party) is running for election for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 19, 2026.[source]
Nelson-Porter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Brenda Nelson-Porter was born in Macon, Georgia. She served in the United States Marine Corps from 1987 to 1991 and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1992 to 2002. She graduated from Jones County High School. She received an associate degree from Gordon College in 1993, a graduate degree from American InterContinental University in 2000, a Ph.D. from the University of Phoenix in 2004, and a doctoral degree in naturopathy in 2015.
Nelson-Porter's professional experience includes being a researcher. She has been affiliated with the International Standard Organization (ISO)-Research and Innovation Network, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), the National Association of Black Military Women (NABMW), the Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education, the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), the Georgia Republican Assembly (GRA), and the Coweta County GOP (Newnan).[1][2]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the May 19 Republican primary for lieutenant governor of Georgia as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor of Georgia on May 19, 2026. Greg Dolezal (R), Steve Gooch (R), John Kennedy (R), and Blake Tillery (R) lead in polling and media attention. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) is running for governor of Georgia rather than for another term as lieutenant governor.
While all four leading candidates are members of the Georgia Senate, they have taken different approaches with their campaigns.
Dolezal was first elected to represent Georgia Senate District 27 in 2018. He became chief deputy majority whip in 2019. His campaign website states that he "stood with President [Donald] Trump when it mattered most" and "has authored some of the most conservative laws to pass the Georgia legislature."[3] Dolezal was one of four state senators in 2020 who called for a special session to select a separate slate of presidential electors.[4] At the time, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he would not call a special session.[5]
Gooch was first elected to represent Georgia Senate District 51 in 2010. He also served as majority leader from 2023 to 2025. Gooch's campaign website states that he "has been a consistent and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump ever since he came down the escalator in Trump Tower in 2015."[6] It also states that, if elected lieutenant governor, he "[will] not only deliver real relief for our families by eliminating the state income tax, he will overhaul our property tax system to ensure our seniors and veterans are no longer taxed out of their homes by runaway local governments."[6]
Kennedy represented Georgia Senate District 18 from 2015 to 2025. He also served as president pro tempore from 2023 to 2025. The Georgia Recorder's Maya Homan wrote that "While other candidates for the seat emphasized their loyalty to President Donald Trump and MAGA policies, Kennedy took a different approach, focusing on his conservative values and work in the state legislature."[7] According to Kennedy's campaign website his priorities include improving education, addressing public safety, and "continuing [Georgia’s] historic run of job creation and investment."[8]
Tillery was first elected to represent Georgia Senate District 19 in 2016. He became chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which develops the state's budget, in 2020. Tillery said he is focusing his campaign on messages on issues "that seem to appeal to everyone": "We're talking about eliminating the state income tax. We're talking about making sure that Georgia immigration laws are followed, and that sanctuary cities don't exist. We're talking about making sure that state taxpayer dollars are not used to pay for transgender surgery."[9]
David Clark (R), Brenda Nelson-Porter (R), Takosha Swan (R), and Jerry Timbs (R) are also running in the Republican primary.
In Georgia, a primary candidate must earn a majority of the vote to win. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff election is held on June 16, 2026, between the top two vote-getters.
Brenda Nelson-Porter (R) and Jerry Timbs (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.
Elections
2026
See also: Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
Josh McLaurin, Nabilah Parkes, and Richard N. Wright are running in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia on May 19, 2026.
| ||||
 = 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
- Seth Clark (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia on May 19, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | David Clark | |
 | Greg Dolezal | |
 | Steve Gooch | |
 | John Kennedy | |
 | Brenda Nelson-Porter | |
 | Takosha Swan | |
 | Blake Tillery | |
 | Jerry Timbs | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[10] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[11] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval. Know of something we're missing? Click here to let us know.
| Poll | Dates | Clark | Dolezal | Gooch | Kennedy | Nelson-Porter | Tillery | Undecided | Sample size | Margin of error |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | -- | 5 | 72 | 900 RV | ± 3.2% | |
– | 2 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 65 | 608 LV | ± 2.0% | |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | ||||||||||
Campaign spending
This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission. Click here to access the reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[12][13][14]
This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: Georgia Secretary of State election, 2022
General election
General election for Georgia Secretary of State
Incumbent Brad Raffensperger defeated Bee Nguyen, Ted Metz, and Brenda Nelson-Porter in the general election for Georgia Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brad Raffensperger (R) | 53.2 | 2,081,241 |
 | Bee Nguyen (D) | 44.0 | 1,719,922 | |
 | Ted Metz (L) | 2.8 | 108,884 | |
| Brenda Nelson-Porter (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 154 | |
| Total votes: 3,910,201 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Georgia Secretary of State
Bee Nguyen defeated Dee Dawkins-Haigler in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia Secretary of State on June 21, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bee Nguyen | 77.0 | 198,511 |
 | Dee Dawkins-Haigler | 23.0 | 59,310 | |
| Total votes: 257,821 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia Secretary of State
Bee Nguyen and Dee Dawkins-Haigler advanced to a runoff. They defeated Michael Owens, Floyd Griffin, and John Eaves in the Democratic primary for Georgia Secretary of State on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bee Nguyen | 44.3 | 309,437 |
| ✔ | | Dee Dawkins-Haigler | 18.7 | 130,278 |
 | Michael Owens | 16.4 | 114,621 | |
 | Floyd Griffin | 10.8 | 75,423 | |
 | John Eaves | 9.8 | 68,233 | |
| Total votes: 697,992 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia Secretary of State
Incumbent Brad Raffensperger defeated Jody Hice, David Belle Isle, and Torri M. Hudson in the Republican primary for Georgia Secretary of State on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Raffensperger | 52.4 | 611,616 |
 | Jody Hice | 33.3 | 389,447 | |
 | David Belle Isle | 8.8 | 103,272 | |
 | Torri M. Hudson | 5.4 | 63,646 | |
| Total votes: 1,167,981 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brenda Nelson-Porter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nelson-Porter's responses.
| Collapse all
I Am A Technologist! I Really Enjoy Database Development! #SecuredOnes I Am A Researcher! Desire to Build Political Models Based On The Needs of the Citizens
I Am A Georgia Peach! Born and Raised Farming - Tomatoes, Sugar Cane, Watermelons, and Peanuts! #MyGenetics #Nutrition- Caregiving Agencies Workforce Development
- Youth Transitional Development - Science Based
- Small Business Development - Work-Life Balance
Transportation Agencies (Transportation for The Disabled)
Higher Education Institutions (Skilled-based Knowledge, Accountability Research Liaisons)
Childhood: Where the Lilies Blooms tied with Helen Keller
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Brenda Nelson-Porter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nelson-Porter's responses.
| Collapse all
- I Am A Technologist! I Really Enjoy Database Development! #SecuredOnes
- I Am A United States Marine! As a Technical Publication Librarian, The Library Passed The CG Inspection For The First Time! #FarEast
- I Am A Georgia Peach! Born and Raised Farming - Tomatoes, Sugar Cane, Watermelons, and Peanuts! #MyGenetics #LandSurvey
Transportation Agencies (Transportation for The Disabled)
Higher Education Institutions (Online Knowledge Exchange, Research and Reporting)
Childhood: Where the Lilies Blooms tied with Helen Keller
I held a Confidential clearance in the United States Marine Corps
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 2, 2021
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 4, 2025
- ↑ Greg Dolezal 2026 Campaign Website, "Home," accessed March 13, 2026
- ↑ The Georgia Recorder, "Cumming state senator joins crowded GOP primary in race to be Georgia’s next lieutenant governor," Sepetmber 30, 2025
- ↑ The Georgia Record, "Governor says courts, not Legislature are last gasp for Trump’s campaign," December 7, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Steve Gooch's 2026 Campaign Website, "Home," accessed March 13, 2026
- ↑ The Georgia Recorder, "High-ranking Senate leader John F. Kennedy enters lieutenant governor’s race," June 2, 2025
- ↑ John Kennedy 2026 Campaign Website, "Georgia's Future," accessed March 13, 2026
- ↑ Now Georgia, "Tillery touts tax cuts, Georgia values in Habersham campaign stop," October 17, 2025
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
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