Cumming's Williams Was Georgia's Most Conservative Senator: Report

CUMMING, GA — A Cumming lawmaker who's making a bid for the governor's office was named the most conservative senator in Georgia in a new report.

Sen. Michael Williams, R-Cumming, was the only senator to receive a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union Foundation in its analysis of the Georgia General Assembly's 2017 session.

Williams, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, recently joined an increasingly crowded field of Republican candidates seeking to replace Gov. Nathan Deal, whose second and final term expires in 2018.

In the ACUF report, Williams voted "yes" on all of the 12 pieces of legislation the group identified as supporting conservative ideals.

The rankings "are meant to reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life," said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the union.

Among them were votes to award tax breaks, expand gun rights, authorize charter schools and private school scholarships and crack down on illegal immigration.

Williams' 100-percent rating follows a 2016 session in which the ACUF gave him a rating of 92 percent. He has a lifetime rating of 90 percent with the group — also the highest rating among all of Georgia's 56 state senators.

Sen. Steve Gooch, a Republican from Dahlonega, was the second-highest ranked senator in the report, with an 83-percent rating. Sen. David Lucas, a Macon Democrat, got the lowest score from the conservative group — agreeing with them only 10 percent of the time.

Williams is a business owner who self-financed his senate campaign, spending $300,000 of his own money en route to defeating incumbent Sen. Jack Murphy. He owned 18 Sports Clips mens' hair salons, which he sold prior to running for office.

After becoming the first elected official in Georgia to endorse now-President Donald Trump, Williams went on to serve as a co-chairman of Trump's campaign in the state.

Photo courtesy Williams For Governor