Current Attorney General and Republican primary candidate for governor Chris Carr stopped in Richmond Hill Tuesday morning for a meet-and-greet with local residents and community leaders at The Goodie Bar, a charcuterie spot in South Bryan County.

A University of Georgia alumnus (undergraduate and law school), Carr worked at Georgia Pacific and Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a free market think tank. He later worked for Sen. Johnny Isakson for 10 years and was Commissioner of Economic Development under Governor Nathan Deal for 3 years before becoming Georgia’s Attorney General.

The Bryan County News spoke with Carr, who is one of eight Republicans running in this year’s gubernatorial primary. Early voting is underway and the primary election is set for Tuesday, May 19. The winners of the GOP and Democratic primaries will face off in the general election this fall. Follow the Bryan County News for more election coverage.

Answers edited for length and clarity.

Q: What are your top campaign priorities? What key issues do you plan to address if elected (in the fall)?

Carr: “My priorities are jobs and safety. With jobs, it always comes down to workforce development, education and literacy, [as well as] a low tax base, investing in infrastructure, and addressing the issues of affordability like housing and healthcare and education. It’s also about keeping people safe. We’ve got to double down on our fight against human trafficking, our fight against gangs, our fight against domestic terrorism, organized retail theft…all issues that are critically important.

“Mental health is going to be a big issue, and my wife would like to reform foster care as part of her platform when she’s first lady.”

Q: How do those campaign priorities translate to issues here in Southeast Georgia?

Carr: “We’re a state that’s built on agriculture, manufacturing, trade, the military, hospitality, construction, small business, all issues of great importance to Southeast Georgia. And when you have the great ports of Savannah and Brunswick [here], we should become the logistics capital of the world, given what we have with this infrastructure.

“The growth that y’all have seen [in Southeast Georgia], jobs and workforce development is a big issue. So whether we’re working with our university system, whether we’re trying to attract people to our state with a low tax base or whether it’s [with] our technical college system…you know, I think we did a great disservice in this nation, when we told kids that wanted to work with their hands that they’re not as smart as the kids that want to go to college. That’s not true. We got to go back and establish that base [of workers].

“Tourism is also a huge issue in Southeast Georgia. Those are jobs, there’s a lot of small businesses in the tourism industry. I mean, here we are at the Goodie Bar, a small business run by two great local folks that are a part of the small business and tourism infrastructure. Anybody that will hire a Georgian to make a great product or a great service, count me in as governor to try and make sure we can find more ways for more people to do that.”

Q: In your view, what makes you stand out in comparison with the other Republicans in this year’s primary?

Carr: “It’s my record and my experiences and my vision. Because again, the primary in Georgia in 2026 has to be about winning the November election, and you have to be a true conservative to win the Republican primary: I am. You look at my record as Attorney General, Commissioner of Economic Development, working for Sen. Isakson…I’ll put my conservative record up against anybody.

“But you also have to be able to appeal to the ever-growing independent voter and they care about jobs, safety, education, affordability, don’t really want to talk about social issues, and [so] candidate quality matters. And when you look at my time at Economic Development, working on jobs, you look at my time as Attorney General for 10 years, focusing on safety, affordability issues, I have the record to do it.

It’s easy to campaign and say what you might do, but it’s difficult to govern. And I have a record of success in the positions I’ve held.”