John Barge
John Barge (Republican Party) was the Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. He assumed office on January 10, 2011. He left office on January 12, 2015.
Barge (Republican Party) ran for election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. He lost in the Republican primary on May 24, 2022.
Biography
Barge was born in Cobb County, Georgia. He graduated in 1988 from Berry College in Rome, GA, with a bachelor's degree in communications and public relations. He also holds a master's degree from the State University of West Georgia and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Georgia.
Before becoming superintendent, Barge was director of secondary curriculum and instruction with the Barlow County (GA) School System. He has also served as a principal and assistant principal, and has taught both high school English and middle school Spanish.[1]
Education
- B.A. in communications/public relations - Berry College (1988)
- M.A. - State University of West Georgia
- Ph.D. in educational leadership - University of Georgia
Elections
2022
See also: Georgia Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2022
General election
General election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated Alisha Searcy in the general election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Richard Woods (R) | 54.2 | 2,115,728 | |
| Alisha Searcy (D) | 45.8 | 1,788,671 | ||
| Total votes: 3,904,399 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Alisha Searcy defeated Jaha Howard, James Morrow, and Currey Hitchens in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Alisha Searcy | 57.0 | 382,792 | |
| Jaha Howard | 15.0 | 100,675 | ||
| James Morrow | 14.6 | 97,821 | ||
| Currey Hitchens | 13.5 | 90,514 | ||
| Total votes: 671,802 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated John Barge in the Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Richard Woods | 72.6 | 802,260 | |
| John Barge | 27.4 | 302,681 | ||
| Total votes: 1,104,941 | ||||
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2020
See also: Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020
Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)
Georgia's 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Georgia District 14
Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated Kevin Van Ausdal (Unofficially withdrew) in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) | 74.7 | 229,827 | |
| Kevin Van Ausdal (D) (Unofficially withdrew) | 25.3 | 77,798 | ||
| Total votes: 307,625 | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14
Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated John Cowan in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Marjorie Taylor Greene | 57.1 | 43,813 | |
| John Cowan | 42.9 | 32,982 | ||
| Total votes: 76,795 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14
Kevin Van Ausdal advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kevin Van Ausdal | 100.0 | 26,615 | |
| Total votes: 26,615 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 14 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Marjorie Taylor Greene | 40.3 | 43,892 | |
| ✔ | John Cowan | 21.0 | 22,862 | |
| John Barge | 8.8 | 9,619 | ||
| Clayton Fuller | 6.8 | 7,433 | ||
| Bill Hembree | 6.4 | 6,988 | ||
| Kevin Cooke | 6.2 | 6,699 | ||
| Matt Laughridge | 5.7 | 6,220 | ||
| Ben Bullock | 3.6 | 3,883 | ||
| Andy Gunther | 1.1 | 1,220 | ||
| Total votes: 108,816 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kyle Perkins (R)
2018
General election
General election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated Otha Thornton in the general election for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Richard Woods (R) | 53.0 | 2,048,003 | |
| Otha Thornton (D) | 47.0 | 1,814,461 | ||
| Total votes: 3,862,464 | ||||
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Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Otha Thornton defeated Sid Chapman in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on July 24, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Otha Thornton | 59.1 | 86,704 | |
| Sid Chapman | 40.9 | 60,006 | ||
| Total votes: 146,710 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Otha Thornton and Sid Chapman advanced to a runoff. They defeated Sam Mosteller in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Otha Thornton | 43.9 | 208,407 | |
| ✔ | Sid Chapman | 36.5 | 173,270 | |
| Sam Mosteller | 19.7 | 93,402 | ||
| Total votes: 475,079 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Richard Woods defeated John Barge in the Republican primary for Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Richard Woods | 60.1 | 324,848 | |
| John Barge | 39.9 | 215,431 | ||
| Total votes: 540,279 | ||||
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2014
- See also: Georgia gubernatorial election, 2014
Though eligible for re-election as state superintendent in 2014, Barge opted to run for Governor of Georgia instead.[2] He sought the Republican nomination in the primary on May 20, 2014, losing to incumbent Nathan Deal. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
- Republican primary
| Governor of Georgia, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Nathan Deal Incumbent |
72.1% | 430,170 | ||
| David Pennington | 16.7% | 99,548 | ||
| John Barge | 11.2% | 66,500 | ||
| Total Votes | 596,218 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State Election Results. | ||||
2010
Barge won election as Georgia State Superintendent of Schools on November 2, 2010.[3]
| Georgia State School Superintendent, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Barge |
53.5% | 1,366,355 | |
| Democratic | Joe Martin | 41.6% | 1,061,124 | |
| Libertarian | Kira Griffiths Willis | 4.9% | 124,547 | |
| Write-In | Howard Miller | 0% | 88 | |
| Total Votes | 2,552,114 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Barge did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
John Barge did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
John D. Barge participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on March 25, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and John D. Barge's responses follow below.[4]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Increase funding for school security in our public schools and ensure safety of our children. 2) Update the State‚Äôs funding formula to reflect education in the 21st century. |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Education, because it is inextricably linked to the economic development and livelihood of our communities, and it is the only thing that can level the playing field for all and break the generational cycle of poverty.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[6]
|
” |
Political career
Georgia Superintendent of Schools (2011-2015)
Barge served as Georgia State Superintendent of Schools from 2011 to 2015.
Issues
Common Core
- See also: Common Core State Standards Initiative
| “ | We need to know that students are being prepared, not at a minimum-competency level but with rigorous, relevant education to enter college, the workforce or the military at a level that makes them competitive with students from other states.[6] | ” |
| —John Barge, The Citizen, June 11, 2014 | ||
On July 8, 2010, the Georgia Board of Education adopted Common Core or Common Core State Standards Initiative, an American education initiative that outlines quantifiable benchmarks in English and mathematics at each grade level from kindergarten through high school.[7] When Barge took over as superintendent in January 2011, he assumed partial responsibility for developing a plan for realizing the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) adopted under the leadership of his predecessor. The "Georgia Milestones Assessment System" was hence designed to bring Georgia in line with the raised educational standards coordinated by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. The Milestones Assessment System consists of various final exams for specific courses worth 20 percent of a student’s grade; reading and math exam scores for third, fifth and eight graders will factor heavily in whether they advance to the next grade.[8][9]
To clear the way for the state to implement the new nationally-aligned standards and achievement metrics, the Milestones System will supersede Georgia's existing achievement testing regime--anchored by the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) for grades 3-8 and the End of Course Tests (EOCT) administered to high school students--effective in the 2014-2015 school year. The changes are scheduled to arrive amid transition in the superintendent's office, since Barge forwent a bid for re-election in 2014 to run for governor and must retire his current position upon the expiry of his first term in January 2015. Whomever is elected to replace Barge will inherit authority over the Georgia Department of Education's implementation of the Milestones System, as well as accountability for any apparent decline in student achievement following the switch to the more challenging Milestones testing regime. Barge has warned that the adjustment may yield disappointing scores in comparison with those of past CRCTs and EOCTs, however he stressed the importance of finding a "new and more realistic baseline of student performance" which can be used to help Georgia schools meet heightened national standards.[9][8]
Campaign finance summary
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Barge currently resides in Floyd County, with his wife of 22 years, Loraine. They have one daughter together.[1]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Georgia State Superintendent of Schools |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed May 19, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Official Results of the Tuesday, November 02, 2010 General Election," accessed March 26, 2013
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "John D. Barge's responses," March 25, 2018
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Common Core: State Standards Initiative, "Core Standards in your State,” accessed July 12, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Citizen, "Common Core tests v. 2.0 arrive in Fayette," June 11, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Athens Banner-Herald, "Georgia students failing at math, test results show," July 3, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Georgia State Superintendent of Schools 2011-2015 |
Succeeded by Richard Woods (R) |
 |
State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) |
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