Forsyth County Chamber to Host Forum for State Legislative Candidates

Rep. Carter Barrett, Rep. Lauren McDonald, Rep. Brent Cox, and Sen. Shawn Still hold every state legislative seat covering Forsyth County. Today, the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce put the candidates running for those seats in a public forum, with 40 days left before Georgia's May 19 primary decides who advances.

The event was the second in the Chamber's 2026 Candidate Forum Series. The first, held February 26, featured candidates for the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners and Board of Education, with debate centering on commercial impact fees, infrastructure funding, county growth, taxes, and quality of life. Today's forum shifted those concerns to the state level, where votes on school funding formulas, highway appropriations, and growth management legislation translate directly into what Forsyth families pay and how long they sit on GA-400.

Barrett holds District 24, McDonald holds District 26, and Cox holds District 28, all in the Georgia House of Representatives. Still represents Forsyth County in the Georgia State Senate from District 48. All four seats were on the table today, part of a 2026 ballot that spans every one of the 180 Georgia House seats and all 56 Georgia Senate seats statewide.

The Chamber, led by President and CEO James McCoy, has tracked state lawmakers through annual pre- and post-legislative breakfast events for years. The business community's stake in Forsyth's rapid growth, infrastructure investment, and economic development runs through nearly every vote cast in Atlanta that affects the county. Based at 212 Webb Street in Cumming, the Chamber is reachable at (770) 887-6461.

If no candidate wins an outright majority on May 19, a runoff is scheduled for June 16. The general election follows November 3.