Gwinnett Democrat to challenge Harper as agriculture commissioner

A Snellville Democrat and an incumbent Republican are vying to be Georgia’s commissioner of agriculture in the November general election.

Georgia’s agriculture commissioner oversees a department with numerous responsibilities — enforcing food safety regulations, marketing Georgia crops, and verifying the quality and quantity of motor fuels sold at gas pumps.

Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry, pumping more than $90 billion a year to the state’s economy, according the Georgia Farm Bureau.

Here are the candidates.

Democrats

Katherine Juhan-Arnold

Juhan-Arnold is the founder of Baby Katie’s Pharm & Kitchen, a Snellville nonprofit that connects farmers with markets and families with fresh, locally-grown food.

She says her priorities include supporting market access and addressing rising costs for Georgia farmers, and ensuring families have access to fresh, locally grown food. She also supports economic development for rural Georgia, consumer protection at the gas pump and elsewhere, sustainable forestry, agricultural innovation and land protection.

Juhan-Arnold says Georgians “deserve a commissioner who understands the practical, everyday work of protecting families and supporting farmers — and who’s ready to serve with care and competence.”

Juhan-Arnold won a Democratic runoff with about 62% of the vote.

Republicans

Tyler Harper

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Harper is a former state senator who was elected agriculture commissioner in 2022. He’s a seventh-generation farmer from Ocilla.

Harper says his priorities include new funding for farms and agribusiness, fighting burdensome regulations and eliminating “unfair trade deals” that put producers in other countries ahead of those in the United States. He also says he’ll ensure food meets the highest standards, support world-class agricultural education, ensure federal natural disaster aid is delivered quickly and expand rural broadband.

“As agriculture commissioner, I’ll fight every day to support our farmers, producers, consumers and advance our state’s number one industry,” Harper says.

Harper had no primary challenger this election cycle.