Houston Gaines
Houston Gaines | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Deborah Gonzalez |
| Constituency | 117th district (2019–2023) 120th district (2023–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 11, 1995 Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | University of Georgia (BA) |
Houston Alexander Gaines (born January 11, 1995) is an American politician from Georgia. Gaines has been a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives since 2019.
In July 2025, he became the first prominent Republican to enter the race for the open U.S. House of Representatives seat in Georgia's 10th congressional district currently represented by Republican Mike Collins, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Georgia.[1][2][3]
In April 2026, President Donald Trump and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson endorsed Gaines in the Republican primary for Georgia's 10th congressional district.[4][5]
Early life
On January 11, 1995, Gaines was born in Athens, Georgia. Gaines' grandfather is the late Judge Joseph Gaines.[6][7]
Education
In 2017, Gaines earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from University of Georgia's University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs and University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. In 2016, Gaines served as the Student Government Association president, until 2017.[8][7] During his time at school, he also served as the campaign manager for Athens Mayor Nancy Denson's ultimately successful campaign.[9] As Mayor, Denson would later throw a fundraiser for Gaines's Republican State House campaign in 2017 and be subsequently removed from the local Democratic Party Committee.[10]
Career
In 2017, at age 22, Gaines ran in a special election for the Georgia House of Representatives and was defeated by Democrat Deborah Gonzalez.[11] On November 6, 2018, Gaines defeated Gonzalez in a rematch of their 2017 race and became a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives for District 117, winning with 53.55% of the votes.[12][13] On November 3, 2020, as an incumbent, Gaines won the election and continued serving District 117. Gaines defeated Mokah Jasmine Johnson with 56.58% of the votes.[14][15][7]
In the 2022 Georgia House of Representatives election he was redistricted to District 120. The 117th district was held by Republican Lauren Daniel.[16]
In 2023, Gaines helped introduce legislation to create a panel that would give the state more oversight over district attorneys and make it easier for residents to recall prosecutors. Gaines pushed for the legislation following criticism that Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, who lost her state House seat to Gaines in 2018, was mismanaging her office, saying, “It is past time we take on rogue prosecutors in Georgia who are putting lives in danger every single day.”[17] In May 2023, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill into law, establishing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC).[18]
In 2026, Gaines along with another Republican candidate, Jim Kingston, received over one million dollars in campaign funding by Leading the Future super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Palantir co-founder Joe Lansdale[19].
Awards
- 2019 Champion of Recovery. Named by Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.[8]
- 2020 UGA 40 Under 40. Named by University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs.[20]
References
- ↑ Bluestein, Greg. "Athens lawmaker launches U.S. House bid for open GOP-leaning Georgia seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
- ↑ Raymond, Jonathan (31 July 2025). "Republican state representative announces run for congressional seat being vacated by Collins". 11Alive. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
- ↑ Bluestein, Greg. "Collins kicks off U.S. Senate bid in Georgia with show of force". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
- ↑ Mitchell, Tia. "Trump endorses Republican front-runners in Georgia races for U.S. House". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ↑ Verity, Kate. "Donald Trump endorses Houston Gaines in race for District 10 seat". The Covington News. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ↑ "Gaines, Houston". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- 1 2 3 "Houston Gaines' Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- 1 2 "Athens Rep. Houston Gaines named Champion of Recovery". redandblack.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- ↑ "Mayor Denson: Age Is Just A Number". Grady NewSource. University of Georgia. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ Lefevre, Kaley. "BREAKING: Athens-Clarke County Democratic Committee votes to remove Mayor Nancy Denson from committee". Red & Black. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ "Houston Gaines".
- ↑ "GA State House 117". ourcampaigns.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ↑ "BREAKING: Houston Gaines takes back state House District 117, Clarke County finishes reporting". Redandblack.com. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ↑ "GA State House 117". ourcampaigns.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ↑ "Representative Houston Gaines". Legis.ga.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
- ↑ "Lauren Daniel". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ↑ Bluestein, Greg. "Georgia DAs could face new oversight under GOP measures". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ↑ "Gov. Kemp Signs Legislation Creating Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission".
- ↑ Nichols, Hans (2026-05-22). "OpenAI-linked PAC doubles down in Kentucky". www.axios.com. Axios. Archived from the original on 2026-05-23. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ↑ "NINE SPIA ALUMNI NAMED TO THE UGA 40 UNDER 40 CLASS OF 2020". uga.edu. 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
