William Harris (Georgia House District 82)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

William Harris

Democratic Party

Candidate, Georgia House of Representatives District 82

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Next election

May 19, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Georgia College & State University, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Atlanta, GA

Profession

Small business owner

William Harris (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 82. He is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2026.^[source]

Biography

William Harris was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a B.B.A. from the Georgia College & State University in 2010. His career experience includes working as a small business owner, a compliance specialist, and has organized worker-owned businesses.

Elections

2026

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 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

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 82

Anthony Dickson (D) and William Harris (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 82 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Anthony Dickson
		William Harris

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 82

Incumbent Karen Mathiak (R) is running in the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 82 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Karen Mathiak

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 74

Incumbent Karen Mathiak defeated William Harris in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 74 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Mathiak (R)	63.7	16,332
		William Harris (D)	36.3	9,306

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,638
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 74

William Harris defeated Errol Mitchell in the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 74 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Harris	64.2	2,025
	Submit photo	Errol Mitchell	35.8	1,131

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,156
= 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 House of Representatives District 74

Incumbent Karen Mathiak defeated David Ballard in the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 74 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Mathiak	66.4	6,412
	Submit photo	David Ballard	33.6	3,248

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,660
= 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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2020

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 73

Incumbent Karen Mathiak defeated William Harris in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 73 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Mathiak (R)	56.0	16,263
		William Harris (D)	44.0	12,796

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,059
= 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 House of Representatives District 73

William Harris advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 73 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Harris	100.0	5,784

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,784
= 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 House of Representatives District 73

Incumbent Karen Mathiak advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 73 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Mathiak	100.0	6,557

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,557
= 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

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2022

William Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is William Harris and I'm running to represent working class and progressive values for the constituents of Georgia's House District 74. I believe in a decentralized approach to society's problems and think that we should have more people up in Atlanta who want to fight to improve the conditions of the folks living in Georgia.

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?

• Increase Wages
• Expand Healthcare
• Legalize Cannabis

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I have a higher education in business and economics and focus a lot of my attention on the organization and development of worker cooperatives which stimulate our local economy and prevent the wealthy elite from exporting our work overseas. I advocate for marginalized groups to ensure that they're given the tools and resources so that they can liberate their communities. I seek true and actual freedom for the folks living here which can only be achieved when we're allowed to own our property, ensure livable wages, and minimize government overreach in our private lives.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"What is Communalism" by Murray Bookchin (1994)

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

I represent the working class in both policy and in material condition. I'm not rich by any means and have spent the majority of my life sharing in the same struggle for survival that most everyone else has. Having my finger on this pulse allows me to better understand the needs of the people living in our district and I ensure that my platform positions and future policymaking focus on these people.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

There is only one core responsibility: to do the most good for the communities that represented us with heavy consideration of the state and national needs included.

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

I was in middle school when the September 11 attacks happened

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Powdermage series by Brian McClellan. I don't often read fiction but it's the one book series I couldn't put down until I finished reading them cover-to-cover

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Millennials and Zoomers are the hardest working and most productive generations in human history but we're also the least paid generations compared to the size of the economy. This has resulted in pushing most of these generations into a class of perpetual renters and wage-laborers who are otherwise unable to get a fair shake at life. Suppressed wages have destroyed our local economies and the consolidation of property into the hands of a wealthy elite have impoverished these two generations for decades into the future.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

The Senate structure was created to maintain lopsided power dynamics in representation. In an ideal representative institution we would have a single unicameral state legislature. In the state of Georgia a Representative to the assembly is expected to adequately represent around 60,000 individuals. A unicameral legislature could more effectively allow for better local community representation.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Computer-based redistricting processes that explicitly and intentionally form competitive districts as to not allow for political strongholds to form.

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

Compromise should always be one of the first avenues of policymaking we should attempt to achieve but we should NEVER compromise on certain issues if it means that the compromise would harm marginalized communities or peoples.

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.

2020

William Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a working class candidate for Georgia's 73rd House of Representatives district and I seek to represent other working class individuals.

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?

• Working Class, I represent YOU!
• Let's start to actually help people in our state.
• It's time for our legislators to be more like our state's average resident.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Let's get work done and enact legislation that helps people including: medicaid expansion, legalizing marijuana, protecting women's healthcare rights, capping insulin prices, etc. Find out more at williamharris2020.com

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

Personally, I believe Robert Evans should be President.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy by Murray Bookchin

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

Actual representation of the people and an emphasis on bottom-up democracy via consensus building.

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

I'm not a traditional political candidate and I feel as if I can better represent the majority of our state's residents due to me being of the same socio-economic class as them.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Maximize resident benefit while reducing state pressure against each resident.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to bring about actual and substantiative change to this state, nation, and even world.

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

I was 13 years old when 9/11 happened and we watched it live on the news.

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

Tech Manager at OfficeMax which I held for 3 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I love the Powdermage Series written by Brian McClellan. I normally don't like fiction novels but I've read through every single Powdermage books released.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Caleb Nichols from HBO's West World seems like would be an interesting life to live.

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

"John the Fisherman" by Primus

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

I'm not a fan of bicameral legislative chambers. They seem to complicate democracy beyond necessity.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Absolutely not!-"Of the people, for the people" indicates that our state legislators are supposed to represent the people, not the state.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Millennials are experiencing the lowest generation of wealth in this country's entire history and we're on a pathway to not being able to retire or even own property--we need to change this.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

The state legislature should hold more authority and power over the governor. The will of the people should always be prioritized higher than a single elected official.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely. We should build relationships with everyone in all of our communities.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Unsure

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

n/a

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Unsure

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

Not really

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

If I have a successful campaign that is well liked then it is certainly possible.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

n/a

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

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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.

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William Harris campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Georgia House of Representatives District 74	Lost general	$10,707	$0
2020	Georgia House of Representatives District 73	Lost general	$18,461	N/A**
Grand total			$29,168	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Georgia House of Representatives

Leadership

Minority Leader:Carolyn Hugley

Representatives

District 1

Mike Cameron (R)

District 2

Steve Tarvin (R)

District 3

Mitchell Horner (R)

District 4

Kasey Carpenter (R)

District 5

Matt Barton (R)

District 6

Jason Ridley (R)

District 7

Johnny Chastain (R)

District 8

Stan Gunter (R)

District 9

Will Wade (R)

District 10

Victor Anderson (R)

District 11

Rick Jasperse (R)

District 12

Eddie Lumsden (R)

District 13

Katie Dempsey (R)

District 14

Mitchell Scoggins (R)

District 15

Matthew Gambill (R)

District 16

Trey Kelley (R)

District 17

Martin Momtahan (R)

District 18

Tyler Smith (R)

District 19

Joseph Gullett (R)

District 20

Charlice Byrd (R)

District 21

Brad Thomas (R)

District 22

Jordan Ridley (R)

District 23

Bill Fincher (R)

District 24

Carter Barrett (R)

District 25

Todd Jones (R)

District 26

Lauren McDonald (R)

District 27

Lee Hawkins (R)

District 28

Brent Cox (R)

District 29

Matt Dubnik (R)

District 30

Derrick McCollum (R)

District 31

Emory Dunahoo (R)

District 32

Chris Erwin (R)

District 33

Alan Powell (R)

District 34

Devan Seabaugh (R)

District 35

Lisa Campbell (D)

District 36

Ginny Ehrhart (R)

District 37

Mary Frances Williams (D)

District 38

David Wilkerson (D)

District 39

Terry Cummings (D)

District 40

Kimberly New (R)

District 41

Michael Smith (D)

District 42

Gabriel Sanchez (D)

District 43

Solomon Adesanya (D)

District 44

Don Parsons (R)

District 45

Sharon Cooper (R)

District 46

John Carson (R)

District 47

Jan Jones (R)

District 48

Scott Hilton (R)

District 49

Charles Martin (R)

District 50

Michelle Au (D)

District 51

Esther Panitch (D)

District 52

Shea Roberts (D)

District 53

Deborah Silcox (R)

District 54

Betsy Holland (D)

District 55

Inga Willis (D)

District 56

Bryce Berry (D)

District 57

Stacey Evans (D)

District 58

Park Cannon (D)

District 59

Phil Olaleye (D)

District 60

Sheila Jones (D)

District 61

Mekyah McQueen (D)

District 62

Tanya Miller (D)

District 63

Kim Schofield (D)

District 64

Sylvia Wayfer (D)

District 65

Robert Dawson (D)

District 66

Kimberly Alexander (D)

District 67

Lydia Glaize (D)

District 68

Derrick Jackson (D)

District 69

Debra Bazemore (D)

District 70

Lynn Smith (R)

District 71

Justin Howard (R)

District 72

David Huddleston (R)

District 73

Josh Bonner (R)

District 74

Robert Flournoy (D)

District 75

Eric Bell (D)

District 76

Sandra Scott (D)

District 77

Rhonda Burnough (D)

District 78

Demetrius Douglas (D)

District 79

Yasmin Neal (D)

District 80

Long Tran (D)

District 81

Noelle Kahaian (R)

District 82

Karen Mathiak (R)

District 83

Karen Lupton (D)

District 84

Mary Oliver (D)

District 85

Karla Drenner (D)

District 86

Imani Barnes (D)

District 87

Viola Davis (D)

District 88

Billy Mitchell (D)

District 89

Omari Crawford (D)

District 90

Saira Draper (D)

District 91

Angela Moore (D)

District 92

Rhonda Taylor (D)

District 93

Doreen Carter (D)

District 94

Vacant

District 95

Dar'shun Kendrick (D)

District 96

Arlene Beckles (D)

District 97

Ruwa Romman (D)

District 98

Marvin Lim (D)

District 99

Matt Reeves (R)

District 100

David Clark (R)

District 101

Scott Holcomb (D)

District 102

Gabe Okoye (D)

District 103

Soo Hong (R)

District 104

Chuck Efstration (R)

District 105

Sandy Donatucci (R)

District 106

Muhammad Ali (D)

District 107

Samuel Park (D)

District 108

Jasmine Clark (D)

District 109

Dewey McClain (D)

District 110

Segun Adeyina (D)

District 111

Rey Martinez (R)

District 112

Bruce Williamson (R)

District 113

Sharon Henderson (D)

District 114

Tim Fleming (R)

District 115

Regina Lewis-Ward (D)

District 116

El-Mahdi Holly (D)

District 117

Mary Santos (D)

District 118

Clint Crowe (R)

District 119

Holt Persinger (R)

District 120

Houston Gaines (R)

District 121

Eric Gisler (D)

District 122

Spencer Frye (D)

District 123

Rob Leverett (R)

District 124

Trey Rhodes (R)

District 125

Gary Richardson (R)

District 126

L.C. Myles (D)

District 127

Mark Newton (R)

District 128

Mack Jackson (D)

District 129

Karlton Howard (D)

District 130

Vacant

District 131

Rob Clifton (R)

District 132

Brian Prince (D)

District 133

Danny Mathis (R)

District 134

Robert Dickey (R)

District 135

Beth Camp (R)

District 136

David Jenkins (R)

District 137

Debbie Buckner (D)

District 138

Vance Smith (R)

District 139

Carmen Rice (R)

District 140

Teddy Reese (D)

District 141

Carolyn Hugley (D)

District 142

Miriam Paris (D)

District 143

Anissa Jones (D)

District 144

Dale Washburn (R)

District 145

Tangie Herring (D)

District 146

Shaw Blackmon (R)

District 147

Bethany Ballard (R)

District 148

Noel Williams (R)

District 149

Floyd Griffin (D)

District 150

Patty Stinson (D)

District 151

Mike Cheokas (R)

District 152

Bill Yearta (R)

District 153

David Sampson (D)

District 154

Gerald Greene (R)

District 155

Matt Hatchett (R)

District 156

Leesa Hagan (R)

District 157

Bill Werkheiser (R)

District 158

Larry Parrish (R)

District 159

Jon Burns (R)

District 160

Lehman Franklin (R)

District 161

Bill Hitchens (R)

District 162

Carl Gilliard (D)

District 163

Anne Westbrook (D)

District 164

Ron Stephens (R)

District 165

Edna Jackson (D)

District 166

Jesse Petrea (R)

District 167

Buddy DeLoach (R)

District 168

Al Williams (D)

District 169

Angie O'Steen (R)

District 170

Jaclyn Ford (R)

District 171

Joe Campbell (R)

District 172

Charles Cannon (R)

District 173

Darlene Taylor (R)

District 174

John Corbett (R)

District 175

John LaHood (R)

District 176

James Burchett (R)

District 177

Vacant

District 178

Steven Meeks (R)

District 179

Rick Townsend (R)

District 180

Steven Sainz (R)

Republican Party (99)

Democratic Party (78)

Vacancies (3)