Otha Thornton
Otha Thornton (Democratic Party) is running for election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Thornton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Otha Thornton was born in Elberton, Georgia. He served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 2010. Thornton a high school diploma from Elbert County Comprehensive High School, a bachelor's degree from Morehouse College in 1989, and a graduate degree from Michigan Technological University in 2001. His career experience includes working in advocacy. As of 2025, Thornton was affiliated with the National Eagle Scout Association, Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., the Morehouse Alumni Association, and the 1600 Communications Association.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Georgia Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Otha Thornton, Fred Longgrear, Mesha Mainor, and Randell Trammell are running in the general election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Otha Thornton (D)  | |
| Fred Longgrear (R) | ||
 | Mesha Mainor (R) | |
 | Randell Trammell (R) | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2018
General election
General election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated Otha Thornton in the general election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Richard Woods (R) | 53.0 | 2,048,003 |
| Otha Thornton (D) | 47.0 | 1,814,461 | |
| Total votes: 3,862,464 | |||
| = 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 State Superintendent of Schools
Otha Thornton defeated Sid Chapman in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on July 24, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Otha Thornton | 59.1 | 86,704 |
| Sid Chapman | 40.9 | 60,006 | ||
| Total votes: 146,710 | |||
| = 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 State Superintendent of Schools
Otha Thornton and Sid Chapman advanced to a runoff. They defeated Sam Mosteller in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Otha Thornton | 43.9 | 208,407 |
| ✔ | Sid Chapman | 36.5 | 173,270 | |
| Sam Mosteller | 19.7 | 93,402 | ||
| Total votes: 475,079 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated John Barge in the Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Woods | 60.1 | 324,848 |
 | John Barge | 39.9 | 215,431 | |
| Total votes: 540,279 | |||
| = 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
Otha Thornton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thornton's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Previously, Thornton served on the National PTA's Board of Directors, Legislative Committee, Membership Committee, and Executive Search Committee. During his time with Georgia PTA, Otha served on the Board of Directors as legislative chair and as an Advisory Group member for Georgia's Partnership for Excellence in Education. He has taught at Athens Technical College in Athens, Georgia and Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan.
Thornton also served Maryland PTA as nominating leader, board development committee chairman, and as a member of Anne Arundel County’s Superintendent High Performing High School Task Force. In addition, he was appointed by the governor of Maryland to serve on a Maryland Education Task Force.
Thornton’s military background allowed him to volunteer throughout the country and the world at various local and council levels. Thornton served as president and vice president) of Meade Senior High School PTSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. He has also been a volunteer at Kaiserslautern Ameri- 1. Partnering to Nurture Every Child's Potential. "Every Georgia student deserves a classroom that is safe, supportive, and laser-focused on learning. My plan proactively builds these environments by ensuring students have the foundation they need to thrive—from nutrition and counseling to reliable support systems. By meeting these essential needs, we empower every child to engage, achieve, and reach their full potential."
- 2. Engaging Parents to Enhance Children's Education Experience Too often, education policy has been dictated from the top leaving communities without a voice in shaping their schools. I believe in building from the ground up by empowering families and local leaders to be true partners in decision-making. Enhancing career pathway programs by fully engaging and collaborating with professional communities in Georgia to create and provide opportunities for our students.
- 3. Giving Teachers Their Autonomy and Classrooms Back Our teachers are drowning under the weight of paperwork, discipline problems, and top-down mandates that handcuff their professionalism. We’re losing great educators because they feel unsupported and unheard. It’s time to restore respect, empower them to lead their classrooms, and give them the tools to succeed.
A Georgia where:
Parents are partners, not protesters.
Schools are safe, well-resourced, and focused on the basics.
Every student graduates ready—for college, a career, or to start a business.
Your tax dollars are spent wisely and fairly, no matter what your zip code.
1. Chief Advocate for Every Student: Ensuring the education system works for all children, regardless of their zip code, background, or learning path.
2. Strategic Administrator: Effectively managing the state Department of Education to support local districts, not burden them with bureaucracy. This includes wise stewardship of state and federal funds.
• Executive Skills: Strong fiscal management to oversee a multi-billion dollar budget, and strategic planning to set long-term goals.
• Educational Expertise: A deep understanding of pedagogy, curriculum, and the challenges facing modern classrooms.
While this was a national effort, its impact was deeply personal and directly relevant to the children and families of Georgia. For too long, our schools were constrained by the one-size-fits-all approach of the previous law, No Child Left Behind, which often reduced children to test scores and punished schools without providing the necessary support.
As a child advocate, my mission was to reframe the conversation around the whole child. We fought to ensure that ESSA included critical provisions that I consider monumental accomplishments:
Empowering Parents and Local Communities: We successfully advocated for ESSA to mandate that states and school districts meaningfully engage parents and families in the development of their education plans. This wasn't just a checkbox; it was a fundamental shift returning power to the local level, ensuring that policies in Atlanta or Washington were informed by the realities in Dalton, Savannah, and Valdosta.
Expanding the Definition of Student Success: We pushed for and secured language that allows states to use multiple measures of school quality—like school climate, student engagement, and access to advanced coursework—moving beyond a narrow focus on standardized test scores. This was a vital step toward recognizing that a child's potential cannot be captured by a single exam.
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.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Otha E. Thornton Jr. participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 5, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Otha E. Thornton Jr.'s responses follow below.[2]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Empowering families, educators, and stakeholders through listening and advocating to get their concerns and needs addressed through the Department of Education, Georgia Assembly, and Governor's office 2) Providing essential resources for students with wrap around services in our school systems (i.e., special needs, high poverty, and rural areas that have limited resources- these specific areas are ongoing challenges in the state) |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Education, because it gives opportunities for any person to become a better person, to serve their community, and to earn a living. The ultimate goal of education is to build character. When we truly educate our children utilizing the components of character, creativity, critical thinking, and empathy, we create better citizens for Georgia. These truly educated Georgians go on to serve in their communities to make them better each day. And finally, they are able to earn a living to support themselves and their family. Education is one of the key drivers that moves our state towards equity, equality and upward economic mobility which indeed would make Georgia a better place to live.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[4]
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” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Otha E. Thornton Jr. answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
| “ | The Coming Jobs War. This book is an exceptional read. A couple of the key areas that resonated with me was the importance of the local leaders/elders and the future of education.[4] | ” |
| “ | Outliers: The Story of Success. The author brilliantly lays out the three critical components of success: culture, opportunity, and preparation.[4] | ” |
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 September 26, 2025
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Otha E. Thornton Jr.'s responses," April 5, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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