Samuel Park (Georgia)

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Samuel Park
Image of Samuel Park
Georgia House of Representatives District 107
Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor
Prior offices
Georgia House of Representatives District 101
Successor: Gregg Kennard

Compensation

Base salary

$24,341.64/year

Per diem

$247/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Georgia State University, 2009

Graduate

American University, 2014

Law

Georgia State University, 2013

Personal
Birthplace
Atlanta, Ga.
Religion
Non-denominational Christian
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Samuel Park (Democratic Party) (also known as Sam) is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 107. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Park (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 107. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Samuel Park was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Park earned bachelor's degrees in economics and political science from Georgia State University in 2009, a juris doctor from Georgia State University in 2013, and a master's degree in law from American University in 2014. His career experience includes working as general counsel with Positive Impact Health Centers, an associate litigation attorney with The Semrad Law Firm, and a legal aide to then-Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin.[1][2][3]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Park was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Park was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Park was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Georgia committee assignments, 2017
Industry and Labor
Intragovernmental Coordination
Small Business Development

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Incumbent Samuel Park defeated Hai Cao in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park (D)
 
60.4
 
15,538
Image of Hai Cao
Hai Cao (R)
 
39.6
 
10,189

Total votes: 25,727
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Incumbent Samuel Park advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park
 
100.0
 
2,206

Total votes: 2,206
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Hai Cao advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Hai Cao
Hai Cao
 
100.0
 
1,418

Total votes: 1,418
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Park in this election.

2022

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Incumbent Samuel Park defeated Hai Cao in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park (D) Candidate Connection
 
68.2
 
9,438
Image of Hai Cao
Hai Cao (R) Candidate Connection
 
31.8
 
4,394

Total votes: 13,832
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Incumbent Samuel Park advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
3,015

Total votes: 3,015
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107

Hai Cao advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 107 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Hai Cao
Hai Cao Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,817

Total votes: 1,817
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2020

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Incumbent Samuel Park defeated Carol Field in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park (D)
 
62.1
 
15,941
Carol Field (R)
 
37.9
 
9,713

Total votes: 25,654
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Incumbent Samuel Park advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park
 
100.0
 
6,267

Total votes: 6,267
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Carol Field advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Carol Field
 
100.0
 
3,484

Total votes: 3,484
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Incumbent Samuel Park defeated Valerie Clark in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park (D)
 
59.0
 
11,549
Image of Valerie Clark
Valerie Clark (R)
 
41.0
 
8,027

Total votes: 19,576
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Incumbent Samuel Park advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Samuel Park
Samuel Park
 
100.0
 
2,174

Total votes: 2,174
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101

Valerie Clark advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 101 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Valerie Clark
Valerie Clark
 
100.0
 
1,890

Total votes: 1,890
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2016

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.

Samuel Park defeated incumbent Valerie Clark in the Georgia House of Representatives District 101 general election.[4][5]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 101 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Samuel Park 51.10% 10,671
     Republican Valerie Clark Incumbent 48.90% 10,211
Total Votes 20,882
Source: Georgia Secretary of State


Samuel Park ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 101 Democratic primary.[6][7]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 101 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Samuel Park  (unopposed)


Incumbent Valerie Clark ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 101 Republican primary.[6][7]

Georgia House of Representatives, District 101 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Valerie Clark Incumbent (unopposed)


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Samuel Park did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Candidate Connection

Samuel Park completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Park's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Representative Sam Park is the first Asian American Democrat and first openly gay man elected to the Georgia State Legislature. He is the grandson of refugees from the Korean War and son of Korean immigrants. Sam is a native Georgian, born and raised by a single mother. He became the first lawyer in his family and obtained his Masters in Law, Politics, and Legislation. Inspired by his mother's battle against terminal cancer, which taught him that access to healthcare is a matter of life or death, Sam ran for office in 2016 to ensure every Georgian has access to healthcare. Sam serves in leadership as a Deputy Whip in the Georgia House Democratic Caucus and as Chair of the Gwinnett State House Delegation. In his professional capacity, Sam serves as General Counsel for Positive Impact Health Centers working to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Georgia.
  • A vote for Sam is a vote for a healthier Georgia. We must address Georgia’s ongoing health care challenges by expanding Medicaid to provide coverage to more than 500,000 Georgians; draw down billions of Georgia taxpayer dollars to support our struggling hospitals; and create 64,000 healthcare jobs to address the current work force shortage.
  • A vote for Sam is a vote for public education. I will invest more in public education from early childhood development and universal pre-k to ensuring access to higher education and technical college through needs-based aid.
  • A vote for Sam is a vote for a stronger Democracy. I want to strengthen our Democracy by protecting the people’s right to vote by repealing SB 202 and other anti-voter laws; take money out of politics; and enact an independent redistricting commission.
If re-elected, I will continue to work on addressing Georgia’s healthcare challenges because that remains one of our biggest unmet needs. While we have made incremental progress, much remains to be done. Medicaid expansion remains good public policy, as demonstrated in 38 other states. Covering our uninsured population, would reduce the billions of uncompensated healthcare costs that have forced so many hospitals in Georgia to close, and expand access to preventative care that will improve health outcomes in a fiscally responsible manner. Much work remains to be done to decrease maternal and infant mortality. We need to work on improving the finance and delivery of long-term care given our rapidly aging population; strengthen our public health system in preparation for the outbreak of infectious disease; end the HIV epidemic or decrease new HIV diagnoses by 90% by 2030; and address childhood trauma and mental health issues of students and youth.
In 2012, I interned for Stacey Abrams who opened wide the doors of opportunity for me, and helped me begin my path into public service. The first lesson she taught me was to do no harm and serve others. By her example, she taught me that leadership in government is about using the power you have to be a voice for the voiceless and to help those in need.

Stacey also taught me to be fearless in being my authentic self because it will help break barriers, create space for others, and help harness our full diversity in service to our Democracy and community. Stacey has inspired me to be ambitious; to dream big and fight hard.
I recall watching news of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing when I was around 9 years old.
I tutored kids throughout middle and high school for about 5 years to help my family make ends meet. After I graduated high school, I took a year off to help my family open a small business. I've also had multiple jobs as a bank teller and a waiter or server while in college.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Samuel Park did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Samuel Park campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Georgia House of Representatives District 107Won general$191,724 $143,137
2022Georgia House of Representatives District 107Won general$38,019 $0
2020Georgia House of Representatives District 101Won general$91,895 N/A**
2018Georgia House of Representatives District 101Won general$171,546 N/A**
2016Georgia House of Representatives, District 101Won $70,051 N/A**
Grand total$563,234 $143,137
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Georgia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016



See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Shelly Hutchinson (D)
Georgia House of Representatives District 107
2023-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Georgia House of Representatives District 101
2017-2023
Succeeded by
Gregg Kennard (D)


Current members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Leadership
Minority Leader:Carolyn Hugley
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Will Wade (R)
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Brent Cox (R)
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
Jan Jones (R)
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
District 73
District 74
District 75
Eric Bell (D)
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
Long Tran (D)
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
District 101
District 102
District 103
Soo Hong (R)
District 104
District 105
District 106
District 107
District 108
District 109
District 110
District 111
District 112
District 113
District 114
District 115
District 116
District 117
District 118
District 119
District 120
District 121
District 122
District 123
District 124
District 125
District 126
District 127
District 128
District 129
District 130
District 131
District 132
District 133
District 134
District 135
Beth Camp (R)
District 136
District 137
District 138
District 139
District 140
District 141
District 142
District 143
District 144
District 145
District 146
District 147
District 148
District 149
District 150
District 151
District 152
District 153
District 154
District 155
District 156
District 157
District 158
District 159
Jon Burns (R)
District 160
District 161
District 162
District 163
District 164
District 165
District 166
District 167
District 168
District 169
District 170
District 171
District 172
District 173
District 174
District 175
District 176
District 177
District 178
District 179
District 180
Republican Party (100)
Democratic Party (80)