Josh McLaurin: Candidate For Lieutenant Governor
Josh McLaurin: Candidate For Lieutenant Governor
Election Date: May 19, 2026
Candidate Website: joshforgeorgia.com
Candidate Instagram: www.instagram.com/josh__mclaurin
Candidate Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoshMcLaurinForGA/
See your sample ballot and all candidates for this and every election here: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/
Question 1 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Over the past year, federal officers within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have detained individuals without cause and searched homes without a judicial warrant, which violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Question: Will you support the Fourth Amendment right to privacy and demand an end to unlawful conduct by DHS and other government agencies?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I filed legislation in the Georgia Senate (SB 397) to allow civil lawsuits against federal officials who violate constitutional rights, particularly the Fourth Amendment. I support ending the doctrine of qualified immunity at the federal level that allows officials to operate with impunity.
Question 2 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Public reports estimate that since 2022, President Donald Trump has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison, or otherwise punish those who are critical of him, including news organizations and talk show hosts (such as Jimmy Kimmel). In September 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi indicted former FBI director James Comey after Trump publicly called for his prosecution.
Question: Do you agree that the president and other government officials should not attack political enemies or those exercising their First Amendment rights?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: The Trump Administration often operates according to the rule "rights for me, but not for thee." They have openly threatened government retaliation against individuals and entities who engage in unfavored speech. It is essential to defend this basic freedom against overreach.
Question 3 Topic: Defending Constitutional Rights
Videos, court statements, and internal communications show that officers of the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE agents, have knowingly and criminally acted outside of their authority. Since the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, the administration has prevented the state of Minnesota from conducting a proper criminal investigation of the perpetrator.
Question: Do you agree that, subject to existing legal precedent, states have the right to prosecute crimes, and will you advocate for the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by federal officers?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: States must assert their constitutional authority to bring criminal prosecutions against federal officials who engage in unlawful acts and violations of rights. Our federalist system is supposed to act as a system of checks and balances between levels of govt.
Question 4 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
A landmark 2004 Princeton study found that a small group of elites and corporations have the greatest influence on U.S. legislation. This issue was exacerbated in 2010, when SCOTUS’s Citizens United decision paved the way for the creation of SuperPACs, which to date have spent more than $5 billion in anonymous special interest dollars to influence US elections and policy.
Question: In your role, will you work to ensure that corporations and PACs are not able to exert undue influence on the legislative process?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: We need comprehensive campaign finance and political reform. Elections should not be won by the highest bidder, particularly when PACs can be structured to obscure the identity of the highest bidder. I will be vocal about these reforms and other pro-democracy structural reforms.
Question 5 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that authored Project 2025, has catalogued every instance of voter fraud in federal elections since 1982 and found that it occurred exceedingly rarely—about once for every million votes. Still, unfounded claims of fraud are frequently used to cast doubt on election results and to advocate for more restrictive laws. President Trump has even called for Republicans to “nationalize” the elections, and on March 31, 2026, he signed an executive order to restrict absentee ballots.
Question: As an elected official, will you help protect free and fair elections, and refute unfounded claims of fraud that undermine faith in our electoral process?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I was the first state official on the scene at the Fulton County Board of Elections when the FBI conducted its raid, which gave me the opportunity to appear on national media speaking out against the lies of the Trump administration. I will continue to shine a light on, and speak out against, the Republican bills targeting our democratic process. I will continue to stand up against election deniers and rebut lies quickly and forcefully in the public sphere.
Question 6 Topic: Commitment To Democratic Process
Though congressional district maps are usually only redrawn once a decade after the census, several states, including Texas and California, passed new laws in 2025 with the explicitly partisan purpose of gerrymandering to gain more seats in the House of Representatives. In Wisconsin and Illinois, gerrymandering has resulted in the winning party receiving about 25% more House seats than their vote share.
Question: Do you agree that fair representation requires fair maps, and will you advocate for them?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: As soon as is practicable, Georgia must move to a non-partisan redistricting process, e.g. an Independent Redistricting Commission. I am fiercely committed to Democratic leadership in Georgia, but I am also a consistent voice within my own party for fairness and holding ourselves to high standards of good governance.
Question 7 Topic: Belief In System of Law
In the case of J.G.G. v. Trump, the administration disobeyed a federal court’s explicit order on March 15, 2025, to stop a deportation flight of Venezualan immigrants and to return any flights that were already in the air. The following year, on February 26, 2026, Federal Court Judge Patrick Schiltz issued anopinion detailing the Trump administration’s failure to comply with hundreds of court orders pertaining to Habeas petitions.
Question: In your position, will you follow court orders and hold other officials accountable for failing to do so?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: It is essential to the rule of law that every official at every level of government agree to abide by court orders. As an attorney, I am especially committed to this principle.
Question 8 Topic: Belief In System of Law
Donald Trump has personally profited an estimated $1.2 billion from cryptocurrency in the second term of his presidency while simultaneously acting to deregulate the industry.
Question: Do you believe that a president and other government officials should be required to divest from conflicts of interest during their term in office, and will you commit to doing the same?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: The corruption of the current administration is obvious and pervasive. To the extent that any official has financial holdings creating a conflict of interest, they must divest or create a blind trust sufficient to solve the conflict.
Question 9 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down $175 billion of tariffs instituted by President Trump, determining that imposing these tariffs overstepped the bounds of his authority. The administration has also illegally withheld congressionally-appropriated funds from states and government agencies through executive action, per the Government Accountability Office.
Question: Will you commit to supporting Congress’s power of the purse and demand an end to this form of executive overreach?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: The current administration has basically no concern for separation of powers or Congress's Article I authority. Even as a state elected official, I would use my platform to sound the alarm about overreach by the federal executive.
Question 10 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the president is immune from criminal liability for “official acts,” making impeachment the only reliable check on presidential power.
Question: Do you believe that Congress has the responsibility to conduct impeachment proceedings, as it did by investigating alleged corruption by President Biden, in order to prevent corruption, abuse of power, and unconstitutional acts for which the president is otherwise unaccountable?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: Congress needs a makeover in many ways. The main one is for Congressional leadership to have the courage to assert its independent authority vis-a-vis the President, but the Republican Party's collapse into authoritarian politics has undermined that independence.
Question 11 Topic: Countering Authoritarianism
During his second term in office, Donald Trump has fired seventeen independent inspectors general and defunded or removed key staff from independent government watchdogs including the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Office of Special Counsel. The administration has also failed to keep adequate records, blocked the release of records (such as the Epstein Files), and claimed ownership of presidential records in violation of legal precedent and ethical standards.
Question: In your role, will you work to ensure transparency and accountability through adequate record keeping and independent inspectors, and will you hold those who do not meet these standards accountable?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: The public can't express an opinion about matters of which it is not aware. Transparency and accountability measures are necessary to ensure a healthy and communicative feedback loop between the public and elected officials on all issues.
Question 12 Topic: Truth in Public Discourse and Decision-Making
Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the benefits and risks of vaccines, some high-profile critics continue to make claims about vaccines that have been debunked.
Question: Do you believe that RFK Jr.’s choice to staff the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with people who push easily-refuted pseudoscientific theories is harmful to Americans’ health, and will you advocate for science-based decision-making?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: RFK Jr. is possibly the least qualified cabinet secretary in history. The way to advocate effectively for science is to communicate about its benefits clearly to the public. Unfortunately, the burden is on rational messengers to explain why people should be paying attention to the dismantling of our government's scientific capacity.
Question 13 Topic: Truth in Public Discourse and Decision-Making
Many public officials make false assertions when they believe it is politically useful. Vice President J.D. Vance defended this practice after claiming Haitians were eating cats and dogs, saying “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Question: Do you agree that lying about the facts voters use to make decisions distracts from the actual issues, and will you commit to accurately representing established facts?
Answer: Yes
Explanation: I put "spine" and "truth" on the main page of my website for a reason. I have a reputation for consistently and accurately truth-telling during my dissents and other speeches / dealings at the Capitol.
