| Johnnie Caldwell Jr. | |
| State House: | Georgia |
| District: | 131st |
| Term Start: | January 14, 2013 |
| Term End: | January 14, 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Richard H. Smith |
| Successor: | Ken Pullin |
| Office1: | Judge for the Griffin Judicial Circuit |
| Term Start1: | 1995 |
| Term End1: | 2010 |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Rita Caldwell |
| Profession: | Attorney |
Johnnie Caldwell Jr. is an American politician from Georgia. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019.
Caldwell previously served on the Fayette County Superior Court, and resigned in 2010 due to the fallout of sexually inappropriate comments and physical contact made to female lawyers.[1] [2] [3] He ran for the Georgia House in 2012, and won, representing the 131st District centered on Thomaston, Georgia.[4] He has won reelection twice.[5] Although he had a challenger in the 2012 Republican primary for his seat, he has never run in a contested general election. Johnnie ran in a contested primary in 2018 against fellow republican, Ken Pullin. Ken went on to win the nomination on May 22, 2018 and took 63 percent of the vote. Ken easily defeated his democratic opponent Chris Benton in his heavily republican district. He succeeded Johnnie Caldwell Jr. on January 14, 2019. Johnnie is currently a private citizen.[6]
Caldwell served on a number of committees:
His father Johnnie Caldwell Sr. also served in the Georgia House of Representatives, where he also was a key player in the redistricting of the state and the regulation of insurance.[8]
In 2017 House session, Caldwell proposed a change to the State Constitution reducing the independence of the Judicial Qualifications Commission that polices the judges. This is the group involved with his resignation from the bench.[9]
Various political groups have assigned scores to Caldwell based on his votes.