ATLANTA, Ga. — In a Senate election year, the two candidates for Georgia lieutenant governor used this week’s debate circuit to draw a clear contrast on living costs, with Democrat Josh McLaurin pushing new housing supply and Republican Greg Dolezal emphasizing property tax cuts.
At Monday’s Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young forum taped at Georgia Public Broadcasting, McLaurin said he wants chambers of commerce and housing advocates working together so enough homes get built to meet demand. Dolezal answered with a call for property tax relief and argued those taxes are among the most damaging levies in the economy.
Asked about data centers, both candidates said local communities should make the call on whether the facilities belong in their towns. The Press Club invited Dolezal and McLaurin as the Republican and Democratic nominees for the race and slotted the lieutenant governor debate for a Monday GPB airing as part of a broader campaign slate of statewide general-election forums.
A second head-to-head between the same candidates aired live Tuesday evening on a metro Atlanta television broadcast as early voting was already under way across all 159 counties. The exchange again covered the issues statewide voters say they are weighing ahead of Nov. 3.
Early voting started Oct. 13 and continues through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3. The lieutenant governor race shares the ballot with contests for governor, U.S. Senate, secretary of state and other constitutional offices that will shape Georgia’s next four years.
McLaurin framed housing as a supply problem that business groups and affordable-housing advocates can help solve together. Dolezal cast high property taxes as a daily burden on homeowners and said relief belongs at the center of the campaign. Their shared nod to local control on data centers was one of the few points of agreement voters heard at the forum this week.
