Tyler Harper
2023 - Present
2027
1
Tyler Harper (Republican Party) is the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Harper (Republican Party) ran for election for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Tyler Harper earned an A.S. from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a B.S. in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia. Harper's career experience includes working as a businessman and farmer. He has been affiliated with the Peace Officer Association of Georgia.[1]
Committee assignments
2021-2022
Harper was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Natural Resources and the Environment Committee, Chair
- Public Safety Committee, Vice chair
- Senate Rules Committee
2019-2020
Harper was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- Government Oversight Committee, Ex-Officio
- Natural Resources and the Environment Committee, Chairman
- Public Safety Committee, Vice Chairman
- Senate Rules Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Appropriations |
| • Natural Resources and the Environment |
| • Public Safety, Chair |
| • Veterans, Military and Homeland Security |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Harper served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Public Safety, Chair |
| • Retirement |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Harper served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Vice Chair |
| • Natural Resources and the Environment |
| • Public Safety |
| • Retirement |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Georgia Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022
General election
General election for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture
Tyler Harper defeated Nakita Hemingway and David Raudabaugh in the general election for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tyler Harper (R) | 53.0 | 2,068,892 |
 | Nakita Hemingway (D) | 44.8 | 1,751,214 | |
 | David Raudabaugh (L) | 2.2 | 85,656 | |
| Total votes: 3,905,762 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mollie Beavers (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture
Nakita Hemingway defeated Winfred Dukes and Fred Swann in the Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nakita Hemingway | 56.2 | 375,435 |
 | Winfred Dukes | 28.6 | 190,936 | |
 | Fred Swann | 15.1 | 101,093 | |
| Total votes: 667,464 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture
Tyler Harper advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tyler Harper | 100.0 | 1,029,564 |
| Total votes: 1,029,564 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2020
See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia State Senate District 7
Incumbent Tyler Harper won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tyler Harper (R) | 100.0 | 56,433 |
| Total votes: 56,433 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7
Incumbent Tyler Harper advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tyler Harper | 100.0 | 25,504 |
| Total votes: 25,504 | |||
| = 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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2018
- See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Georgia State Senate District 7
Incumbent Tyler Harper won election in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 7 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tyler Harper (R) | 100.0 | 45,488 |
| Total votes: 45,488 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 Senate District 7
Incumbent Tyler Harper advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 7 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tyler Harper | 100.0 | 10,199 |
| Total votes: 10,199 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
- See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Georgia State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.
Incumbent Tyler Harper ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 7 general election.[2][3]
| Georgia State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tyler Harper Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 48,481 | |
| Total Votes | 48,481 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Tyler Harper ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 7 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Georgia State Senate, District 7 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Tyler Harper Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
- See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Georgia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with a runoff election taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Tyler J. Harper was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[6][7][8]
2012
- See also: Georgia State Senate elections, 2012
Harper ran in the 2012 election for Georgia State Senate District 7. Harper defeated Rodney Vickers and Mark Hatfield in the Republican primary on July 31, 2012. Gene Mitchell ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10] Harper defeated Mitchell in the general election.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tyler Harper |
71.5% | 40,111 | |
| Democratic | Donald Mitchell | 28.5% | 15,961 | |
| Total Votes | 56,072 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Tyler Harper |
63% | 14,862 |
| Mark Hatfield | 29.1% | 6,875 |
| Rodney Vickers | 7.9% | 1,852 |
| Total Votes | 23,589 | |
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tyler Harper did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Tyler Harper did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 4.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 31.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 26. The session was suspended from March 13 through June 11.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 14 through April 2.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through March 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through March 24.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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Stances on the issues
Agriculture commissioners are responsible for overseeing and regulating practices and policies that affect farmers, consumers of agricultural products, and the broader agricultural industry in their states. Their powers can vary, but they typically have the authority to enforce state laws and regulations pertaining to agriculture and investigate practices related to the agricultural sector that may violate state laws or regulations.[12][13]
This section outlines Harper's stances on policy issues as they relate to agriculture.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| •What is ESG? • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Harper has argued against ESG, which refers to an investment or corporate governance approach that involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain standards related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and making business and investment decisions that promote those standards. Agricultural commissioners have the authority to use their investigative and enforcement powers to scrutinize the effects of financial practices on the agricultural sector, write letters to financial institutions requesting information on their policies and practices, and issue regulations related to fertilizer usage, agricultural fuel usage, and rural electrification.[12][13]
Letter opposing ESG practices at financial institutions
Harper joined eleven agricultural commissioners from other states on January 29, 2024, in writing a public letter to the CEOs of six large banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, opposing their ESG commitments.[12][13]
The letter argued that the financial institutions’ commitments to implementing Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) policies could restrict credit access for farmers and coerce agricultural producers into changing their farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The officials said such changes would increase costs in the agricultural sector, reduce the availability of food, drive up consumer prices, and eliminate jobs in the industry.[12][13]
The letter requested additional information related to the banks’ ESG commitments, including details on how the banks intended to promote NZBA’s carbon emissions targets for the agricultural sector.[12][13]
Noteworthy events
Harper, along with his Georgia State Senate colleagues, entered self-quarantine after State Sen. Brandon Beach tested positive for coronavirus.[14]
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| Coronavirus pandemic |
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See also
| Georgia | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
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Candidate Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture |
Officeholder Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Georgia General Assembly, "Senator Tyler Harper Biography," accessed November 30, 2022
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 13, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General primary results," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 31, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Elections Division, "2012 Election Results" accessed November 16, 2012
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Fox Business, “Dozen state GOP agriculture commissioners launch probe of US banks over ESG investing: 'It must be stopped,'” accessed February 13, 2024
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Georgia Department of Agriculture, “Impact of Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Agriculture & Food Security,” January 29, 2024
- ↑ WGAU 98.7FM & AM1340, “Senator tests positive for coronavirus, Athens lawmakers self-quarantine,” March 19, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Georgia State Senate District 7 2013-2023 |
Succeeded by Nabilah Islam Parkes (D) |
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