NEWTON COUNTY – After months of speculation, State Rep. Tim Fleming has announced his intentions to run for the Secretary of State office in 2026.

Fleming, a Republican, is a current member of the Georgia House of Representatives, where he represents District 114, which includes parts of Newton and Walton Counties as well as Morgan County. He has held that role since 2022, succeeding Dave Belton.

On Thursday, Fleming took to his “Tim Fleming for State House” Facebook page to confirm his intentions to run for Secretary of State.

“Yesterday, I took the necessary steps to formally begin preparing a campaign for Georgia Secretary of State,” Fleming wrote. “This step will give my family and me the ability to continue laying the groundwork necessary moving forward. An official announcement will be made at the appropriate time, but in the meantime, I look forward to continuing meaningful conversations with Georgians across this great state about the challenges we face and the future we can build together with strong conservative leadership.”

Outside of his current role in the state house, Fleming is no stranger to the political world. From 2002-05, while still in college at the University of Georgia, Fleming worked with current Governor Brian Kemp for Kemp’s state senate and agriculture commissioner runs

Then in 2008, Fleming was elected to the Newton County Board of Commissioners, representing District 5., At 25 years old, this made Fleming the youngest commissioner to serve in Newton County history. He served one term from 2009-13, declining a reelection bid for a second term.

Fleming maintained his working relationship with Kemp, becoming campaign manager for the 2010 Secretary of State election. In 2013, Fleming was named deputy secretary of state by Kemp.

Years later, Fleming was Kemp’s campaign manager once more, for the gubernatorial race., He later became Kemp’s chief of staff until his resignation from the role in November 2020 to enter the private sector. 

This eventually led to his campaign for state representative in 2022.

It is expected that several more names on both sides of the political aisle will enter the Secretary of State race before next year’s election. Incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger has held the seat since 2019, but is reportedly looking at running for a higher office, such as Governor or U.S. Senate.

“Georgia has been really good to Trish and I,” Raffensperger told The Covington News in April. “This is where we’ve built our business, raised our family, and that’s really why I got involved in the political process. I love Georgia. I love Georgians. And if I can serve in a higher office, I would take a look at that.”