The Honorable Dwayne Gillis, a longtime superior court judge from Douglas, is vying to be the next state senator for the 19th district, bringing a tenure of public service and a platform of conservative values to the campaign trail.
District 19 includes Appling, Bacon, eastern Coffee, Jeff Davis, Long, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Wayne, and Wheeler counties.
The Coffee County native is husband to his high school sweetheart, father to three, and grandfather to seven – soon to be eight. He grew up cropping tobacco and still lives on a generational family farm where they maintain a 40-acre commercial orange growing operation.
Gillis worked as a police officer when he first got married, finished college at Valdosta State University, and then went on to law school at Mercer. He practiced law for roughly eleven years, working part-time as both a municipal court judge and a juvenile court judge for nine of those years, before moving to the superior court bench in the Waycross Judicial Circuit in 2001. Gillis served the most recent eighteen years as the Chief Judge until his retirement in February of 2026, a seat he vacated to run for state senate. He’s a small business owner, a deacon at First Baptist Church in Douglas, and a volunteer at a children’s home in Appling County.
In his interview, Gillis shared how his faith in Christ plays a centric role in his daily life and how that role led to his decision to run for senate. The weight fell on him during a mission trip earlier this year.
“I just felt compelled from the Lord to do this. Personally, I didn’t want to do it. It’s out of my comfort zone doing all this. I’m at retirement age, but I feel like it’s something I’m called to do and the time is right,” he shared.
That call, along with the values he hopes to take to the Gold Dome, are what brought him to the campaign trail.
Campaign Issues
Pro-Business: Supports major tax relief for both businesses and families.
Education:Gillis’ campaign platform includes ‘early intervention programs with truant children’ and a pledge to support teachers with adequate pay.
Law Enforcement & Crime: Supports expanded resources for law enforcement, ending parole for drug traffickers and gang members, and a justice system funded by criminals, not taxpayers.
Fight for South Georgia Jobs: He plans to advocate for everything from rural broadband expansion and industry to cutting red tape. Gillis said in his interview that he’s committed to keeping in touch with small business owners in the district to be a voice for their concerns while also maintaining a seat at the table to understand why jobs and resources continue to plant themselves in metro counties over rural ones.
Conservative: Pro-life, Pro-gun, Pro-family. Protect kids from radical agendas, defend the Second Amendment, and ensure parents’ rights over government control.
While Gillis is committed to justice reform, the platform encompasses other components, all of which are impacted by the justice system, including corrections, the cost of recidivism, rehabilitation, and even compensation for state employees.
Justice Reform – As a Superior Court judge presiding over felony cases, Gillis said he saw first hand how a lack of resources often stopped early intervention for those in need of help with mental illness or addiction. He referenced Florida’s Marchman Act for addiction and the Baker Act for mental health, both of which have been in place since the 1990s and afford chances for early intervention with resources, often with nominal taxpayer expense.
“I just have a desire to create a statutory system to help parents and others if they have a loved one suffering from addiction,” Gillis said.
He talked about success rates of programs like drug courts and mental health courts which offer 80% success rates. “You’re talking about maybe $4,000 for a couple of years as opposed to $26,000 a year to incarcerate someone and 70% chance of them coming back within three years. I want to see programs expanded, get them drug-free, see them go to work, and re-start their lives.”
Gillis also talked about political protestations with no follow through on issues like tax cuts and backing the blue. “Politicians want to talk about all these things and say they support these things, but the state doesn’t have enough ADAs to prosecute cases. The crime lab is behind due to a loss in institutional knowledge. In the Georgia Department of Corrections, something like 70% of employees resign in the first year. We’re not paying adequate wages and at one point, we were 49th in the nation. I want to work on those things that can actually have an impact.”
Agriculture – While much of what impacts agriculture is determined at the federal level, Gillis said he’s committed to work with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to support Georgia’s biggest industries, while also noting that he doesn’t want to see all of Georgia’s farmland converted to big business. “I’d like to see generational stability in family farms.” Gillis is in favor of demanding foreign producers meet the same standards as Georgia farmers and would like to see incentives to grow more of America’s food in Georgia.
Lobbyist Pressure – When asked how he would weigh pressure from lobbyists on certain issues against his own political ideologies, Gillis said “nothing moves me.” He said even within the state senate race, he’s seen the pressure with endorsements and campaign donations, but neither have impacted how he’s running his race or why.
Considering Issues Generally – Gillis said he won’t stray too far from the district. He wants to keep in constant communication with constituents to hear their feedback, while also seeking advice from others.
“It’s not about jawjacking or playing politics. I’m for limited government, but I also want policies and acts that let us govern the people we represent and Georgia just is not doing that,” Gillis said. “My orientation is to people first and this country boy will be fine either way – I plan to leave it up to the good Lord and the people of the 19th.”
Election Day is Tuesday, May 19. Early voting is ongoing through Friday, May 15.
