Jon G. Burns
2005 - Present
2027
20
Jon G. Burns (Republican Party) is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 159. He assumed office on January 10, 2005. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Burns (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 159. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
The Georgia House of Representatives voted unanimously to make Burns Georgia's 75th Speaker of the House in January 2023.[1] Before that, Burns had served as House Majority Leader since 2015.[2]
Burns was born in Effingham County.[3] Burns graduated from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from John Marshall Law School.[4][2] Professionally, Burns worked on his family's timber and livestock farm, in Effingham County, and purchased and ran a feed and farm store.[5] The Burns family owned around 4,000 acres of timberland across three counties.[6]
Burns got his start in politics when he was he was appointed to represent a district on the 14-member State Transportation Board, part of the Georgia Department of Transportation.[7] In 2004, Burns ran to represent District 157 in the Georgia House of Representatives, defeating Woodrow Lovett (D) 65.% to 35%.[8]
When asked about his top legislative priorities as Speaker, Burns said: "Continuing with our health care initiatives. Also, embrace mental health. It's been a big priority for us over the years. Certainly we've continued that. Certainly public safety will continue to be front and center. Education. We've been great supporters of higher education and K-12, and we've added another layer in there as we look at making sure that pre-K is an important part and is well-funded and well-supported in our state, and we know that if you get started early, then you finish stronger."[9]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Shannon McCaffrey described Burns as a "consensus builder and a listener, he stresses his roots as a farmer and small business owner at home among the cornfields and pine trees of Effingham County."[10] Effingham County Democratic Party Chairman Tony Chiariello said, "Jon Burns is a very good politician, and he has made some very good friends among the Democrats in Effingham County, including in the African American community. I don’t vote for Jon Burns, but I think he’s a decent fellow."[11]
Biography
Burns' professional experience includes working in agribusiness.
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.
2021-2022
Burns was assigned to the following committees:
- House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- House Appropriations Committee
- House Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- House Ethics Committee
- Game, Fish, and Parks Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House Transportation Committee
2019-2020
Burns was assigned to the following committees:
- House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
- House Ethics Committee
- Game, Fish, and Parks Committee
- House Economic Development and Tourism Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House Transportation Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Economic Development and Tourism |
| • Ethics |
| • Game, Fish, and Parks |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Burns served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Economic Development and Tourism |
| • Game, Fish, and Parks, Chair |
| • Rules |
| • State Properties |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Burns served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Game, Fish, and Parks, Chair |
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Appropriations |
| • Economic Development and Tourism |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Burns served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Game, Fish, and Parks, Chair |
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Appropriations |
| • Banks and Banking |
| • Special Rules |
| • Transportation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Burns served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Special Rules, Chair |
| • Agriculture and Consumer Affairs |
| • Game, Fish, and Parks |
| • Transportation |
Sponsored legislation
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 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns (R) | 100.0 | 26,319 | |
| Total votes: 26,319 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns | 100.0 | 6,798 | |
| Total votes: 6,798 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Burns in this election.
2022
See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns (R) | 100.0 | 19,114 | |
| Total votes: 19,114 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns | 100.0 | 7,951 | |
| Total votes: 7,951 | ||||
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2020
See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns (R) | 100.0 | 21,976 | |
| Total votes: 21,976 | ||||
| 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns | 100.0 | 7,022 | |
| Total votes: 7,022 | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns (R) | 100.0 | 16,917 | |
| Total votes: 16,917 | ||||
| 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159
Incumbent Jon G. Burns advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 159 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jon G. Burns | 100.0 | 3,276 | |
| Total votes: 3,276 | ||||
| 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
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.
Incumbent Jon Burns ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 159 general election.[12][13]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 159 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jon Burns Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 17,513 | |
| Total Votes | 17,513 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Jon Burns defeated Daniel Almond in the Georgia House of Representatives District 159 Republican primary.[14][15]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 159 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jon Burns Incumbent |
76.03% | 3,857 | |
| Republican | Daniel Almond | 23.97% | 1,216 | |
| Total Votes | 5,073 | |||
2014
Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014, with runoff elections taking place where necessary on July 22, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Jon G. Burns was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[16][17][18]
2012
Burns ran in the 2012 election for Georgia House of Representatives District 159. Burns ran unopposed in the Republican primary on July 31, 2012. He was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[19][20]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jon G. Burns Incumbent |
100% | 15,829 | |
| Total Votes | 15,829 | |||
2010
Burns ran for re-election to the 157th District seat in 2010. He did not have any opposition in the July 20 primary. Burns defeated Elizabeth Johnson (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[21]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 157 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Jon G. Burns (R)
|
8,598 | 67.4% | ||
| Elizabeth Johnson (D) | 4,166 | 32.6% | ||
2008
In 2008 Burns was re-elected to the Georgia House of Representatives District 157. Burns (R) ran unopposed and finished with 15,036 votes.[22] Burns raised $38,750 for his campaign fund.[23]
| Georgia House of Representatives District 157 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Jon G. Burns (R)
|
15,036 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jon G. Burns did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Jon G. Burns did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Jon G. Burns 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.
Scorecards
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
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 28.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 29.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 4.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 31.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 26. The session was suspended from March 13 through June 11.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 14 through April 2.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through March 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through March 24.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 21.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 29.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Georgia House of Representatives District 159 |
Officeholder Georgia House of Representatives District 159 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Savannah Morning News, "A unanimous vote for House speaker? Yes, in the Georgia General Assembly for Jon Burns," January 9, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Georgia House of Representatives, "Speaker Jon Burns biography," accessed June 27, 2024
- ↑ Jon Burns 2024 campaign website, "Meet Jon Burns," accessed June 27, 2024
- ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Who is Jon Burns? Georgia’s new House speaker is a ‘classic conservative’," January 9, 2023
- ↑ State Affairs, "On civility, Santa and that pumpkin cake: a holiday chat with the House speaker and his wife," December 22, 2023
- ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, "Who is Jon Burns? Georgia’s new House speaker is a ‘classic conservative’." January 9, 2023
- ↑ Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, "Speaker Jon Burns," accessed June 27, 2024
- ↑ Our Campaigns, "GA State House 157," accessed June 27, 2024
- ↑ 11 Alive, "Georgia politics: Speaker of the House Jon Burns discusses big issues and legislative priorities," June 7, 2024
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Who is Jon Burns? Georgia’s new House speaker is a ‘classic conservative’," January 9, 2023
- ↑ Savannah Morning News, "A unanimous vote for House speaker? Yes, in the Georgia General Assembly for Jon Burns," January 9, 2023
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 13, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General primary results," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Elections Division, "2012 Election Results" accessed November 16, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Election results," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Campaign funds
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Georgia House of Representatives District 159 2005-Present |
Succeeded by - |
