Ben Watson (politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Watson
Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 1st district
Assumed office
January 12, 2015
Preceded byBuddy Carter
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 166th district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 12, 2015
Preceded byDelvis Dutton
Succeeded byJesse Petrea
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 163rd district
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2013
Preceded byBurke Day
Succeeded byJ. Craig Gordon
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Luther Watson

(1959-07-27) July 27, 1959 (age 62)
Twin City, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican

Benjamin Luther Watson (born July 27, 1959) is an American politician who has served in the Georgia State Senate from the 1st District since he was appointed in 2014. He previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2010 to 2014. Watson is an active member of the Republican Party, and he has also been a part of various committees and caucuses in the state of Georgia.[1]

Background and education[]

Ben was born in 1959 and grew up in Twin City, Georgia. He now resides in Isle of Hope, Georgia with his wife, Bernice, who is a Savannah-Chatham Public School teacher, and their three sons.[2]

Ben graduated high school from the Emanuel County Institute in 1977 and graduated with a BA from the University of Georgia in 1981. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.[3]

Career[]

Ben's career is pretty easy to follow. After getting his MD, he has worked as a primary care physician in Savannah. He practices internal medicine at SouthCoast Medical Group where he specializes in elderly patients. He has practiced medicine at SouthCoast Medical Group since 1988 and still works there today.

Ben began his career in politics by becoming a representative in the Georgia State House of Representatives for in 2010. He represented Georgia's 163rd District from 2010 to 2013 and then represented from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, he was elected Senator in the Georgia State Senate in District 1. He took over the seat from Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, who campaigned for a higher spot in Congress.[4]

List of Current Legislative Committees:[5]

  • Member, Appropriations
  • Chair, Health and Human Services
  • Member, Insurance and Labor
  • Member, Public Safety
  • Member, Subcommittee on General Welfare and Safety
  • Member, Subcommittee on Healthcare Delivery and Access
  • Member, Subcommittee on Scope of Practice
  • Member, Transportation
  • Member, Veterans, Military and Homeland Security

List of Former Committees/Caucuses:[6]

  • Member, Georgia State Senate Appropriations Committee, present
  • Member, Georgia State Senate Ethics Committee, present
  • Member, Georgia State Senate Health and Human Services Committee, present
  • Member, Georgia State Senate Public Safety Committee, present
  • Member, Georgia State Senate Retirement Committee, present
  • Member, Georgia State Senate Transportation Committee, present
  • Chair, Georgia State Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee, present
  • Former Vice Chair, Economic Development and Tourism Committee, Georgia State Senate
  • Former Member, Ethics Committee, Georgia State Senate
  • Former Member, Georgia State House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Health Subcommittee
  • Former Member, Georgia State House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee
  • Former Member, Georgia State House of Representatives Higher Education Committee
  • Former Secretary, Georgia State House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee
  • Former Member, Subcommittee on Abusive Billing Practices, Georgia State Senate
  • Former Member, Subcommittee on Community Health, Georgia State Senate
  • Former Member, Subcommittee on Insurance, Georgia State Senate
  • Former Member, Subcommittee on Pharmacology, Georgia State Senate

Elections[]

Georgia State Senate[]

2020[]

In the November 3rd, 2020 election, Ben Watson ran for re-election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 1 as a Republican incumbent. He initially ran against a Democratic challenger, Kerri McGinty, who withdrew from the race on September 30, 2020. Watson will carry out an additional term in his current seat for 2 more years.[7]

2018[]

Ben Watson defeated Democratic challenger Sandra Workman in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 1 on November 6, 2018. Watson received 61% of the total votes cast. Ben was not challenged in the Republican Primary.[8]

2014 - 2016[]

Ben Watson ran unopposed in the Georgia State Senate District 1 general elections in 2014 and 2016.

Georgia House of Representatives[]

2010[]

The Georgia State House of Representatives District 163 was left vacant by Representative Burke Day (R) in 2010. Ben Watson, Joe Welch and Gary Wisenbaker competed in the Republican primary on July 20 for the Republican nomination in a majority Republican district. Watson managed to avoid the almost certain runoff which would have been required by Georgia State Law if none of the three candidates reached 50.01% of the vote. Watson garnered 64.5% of the vote to Welches's 18.7% and Wisenbaker's 16.9%. In the November 2 General Election, Watson defeated Jeremy Scheinbart (D) with 80.2% of the vote.

References[]

  1. ^ "Member". www.senate.ga.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  2. ^ "Meet Ben". Watson for Senate. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  4. ^ "Savannah Rep. Ben Watson to seek Ga. state Senate seat". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  5. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  6. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  7. ^ "Democratic candidate withdraws from Georgia Senate race". Savannah Morning News. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Ben Watson". Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
Retrieved from ""