Deric Houston

Deric Houston (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia's 14th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2024.

Houston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Deric Houston was born in Hollywood, Florida. His career experience includes working as an operations manager.^[1]

Elections

2024

Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Democratic primary)

Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Incumbent Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated Shawn Harris in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Marjorie Taylor Greene (R)	64.4	243,446
	Shawn Harris (D)	35.6	134,759

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 378,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Shawn Harris defeated Clarence Blalock in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on June 18, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Shawn Harris	69.0	7,219
	Clarence Blalock	31.0	3,245

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,464
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Clarence Blalock and Shawn Harris advanced to a runoff. They defeated Deric Houston and Joseph Leigh in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on May 21, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Clarence Blalock	38.7	7,005
✔	Shawn Harris	38.1	6,881
	Deric Houston	14.5	2,630
	Joseph Leigh	8.7	1,566

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,082
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Mandi White (D)
Bart Bryant (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Incumbent Marjorie Taylor Greene advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marjorie Taylor Greene	100.0	56,932

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,932
= 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

Luke Farmer (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Houston in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Deric Houston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Houston's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Loving husband and father of 2 school-aged kids, Deric has lived in Paulding County, Georgia for over 20 years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Protecting kids in schools, both physically and mentally.
Equal (and equitable) rights for our LGBTQ+ and PoC brothers and sisters.
Balancing the budget WITHOUT threatening earned income benefits.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The Republic is in upheaval, there's not ONE policy I'm passionate about. Our Constitution is under attack and those sworn to defend and interpret it are compromised. Business and industries wire their own regulations, and pay off corrupt legislators to present it without change.

If there's a single thing that I'm passionate about, it's candor. I am running my campaign, and will hold the office with honesty and transparency.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I find it difficult to pin down a singular 'hero', as I'm the only person I can fairly compare myself to. With that said, There are many qualities that I often look to others to emulate; Neal Degrasse Tyson's ability to take a complicated topic and simplify it, the courage of Bernie Sanders, the heart of Stan Lee, and the integrity of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There's not a single person who I can look up to, but as the hero of kindness, Fred "Mr." Rogers once said, "Look for the helpers".

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Any elected official should be transparent with those who entrusted them with the position. They ultimately answer to The People. Integrity is a part of that transparency, and as an 'instrument' of those people, they should be able to sleep at night, knowing that they did what is right for the people. To put it simply, they need to be truthful, both with themselves and those they were sworn to represent.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm very passionate in my beliefs, and I don't often back down from resistance, but, I believe that not everything has to be solved with argument, some things can just be discussed normally - maybe after work, over a burger - like actual people do. I think I would be a successful officeholder because I'm an average guy who is tired of watching from the sidelines as my country is being torn apart.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be a noteworthy brick in the path to a world that is cleaner and kinder.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The O.J. Simpson verdict. I was probably 16 at the time and I was at school, where several teachers had turned on their TVs to see it.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Burger King rear window cashier - hard work, but I enjoyed the food!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Currently stuck in my head, I have no idea why:
"I hate myself for lovin' you" - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House is where a bill starts, it's where change is born and where officials are held accountable for their actions. Representatives have smaller districts than Senators, so that they can be closer to the people they represent, and they can take their needs to Washington.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that it is beneficial in some ways, but not in others. For some who have the experience in government, we've seen them take advantage of the "perks" provided by lobbiests or other interested parties - bad habits. On the other hand, it's beneficial to enter the political sphere with a new perspective, and not having the foreknowledge that certain people would never agree, etc. allows the inexperienced representative to take chances that the experienced might not.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

MAGA tore a rift in this country, and it will take a while for that damage to be repaired. We are going to have to make a conscious effort to heal, but that can't happen as long as anyone in the MAGA faction holds office. This isn't because only one side can exist, it's simply because the MAGA faction doesn't accept reality, and we can't come to any sort of compromise if one side is only interested in fantasy.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I think four to six would be a better term, mostly because it seems that Representatives are always campaigning, which cuts into time they're spending legislating. Freshmen Representatives are expected to be relatively quiet for their first year, which only leaves a year for legislation, and again, campaigning.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I think term limits should have been implemented decades ago, as most of the people in congress will not live to be old enough to feel the impact of the legislation they pass today.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Not a Representative, but Senator Bernie Sanders' (D-VT) entire career is amazing. For him to have participated, first hand, in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and still be arguing for equal rights and treatment for all is a testament to his commitment to the cause. Equality for all is very high on my priority list, as well, so I intend to work with Senator Sanders on legislation to further that cause.

Tell us your favorite joke.

When does a BAD joke become a DAD joke?

- When it's a-parent <buh-dum tsss>

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I don't believe it is always necessary, but I do think it's desirable. If 'the opposition' is included in the discussion, they're more likely not to push back when it comes to the floor, or even better, they may help to add reasonable things that may get others in their party to join in.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

A functional government requires revenue, unfortunately, 'raising revenue' often comes in the form of cutting spending on those who need it; education, veterans, the homeless, and earned income benefits. If we would simply stop giving money to the wealthy and start helping people with it, I would call it a successful raise in revenue.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

The House should use it's power cautiously and without political intentions. The 118th congress is using its power irresponsibly and maliciously as punishment for legitimately investigating, impeaching, and indicting the shamed former President.

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

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Deric Houston campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Georgia District 14	Lost primary	$7,033	$7,386
Grand total			$7,033	$7,386
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Georgia District 14

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 21, 2023

[show]

Georgia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jon Ossoff (D)

Raphael Warnock (D)

Representatives

District 1

Earl Carter (R)

District 2

Sanford Bishop (D)

District 3

Brian Jack (R)

District 4

Hank Johnson (D)

District 5

Nikema Williams (D)

District 6

Lucy McBath (D)

District 7

Rich McCormick (R)

District 8

Austin Scott (R)

District 9

Andrew Clyde (R)

District 10

Mike Collins (R)

District 11

Barry Loudermilk (R)

District 12

Rick Allen (R)

District 13

David Scott (D)

District 14

Marjorie Greene (R)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (7)

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 21, 2023

[1]

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Deric Houston

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

Election analysis

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Public Policy

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