Gwinnett’s Everton Blair files paperwork for State School Superintendent Race

The Georgia Campaign Finance Commission website revealed that Gwinnett County Board of Education Chair Everton Blair has registered as a candidate for State School Superintendent. Blair had announced in November that he would not seek reelection to his school board seat in 2022. 

He was first elected in 2018 and became the board’s first Black, openly gay and youngest-ever member. Blair was elected as the Gwinnett board’s chair for 2021, leading the board through numerous decisions related to the pandemic.

Blair joins fellow Democrat, Dr. Jaha Howard who is running for this office. Howard, a dentist who serves on the board of education for Cobb County Public Schools, registered as a potential candidate in October. Former state school superintendent John Barge said he would campaign in the Republican primary against incumbent Richard Woods.

The state school superintendent leads the Georgia Department of Education, and is responsible for monitoring schools and distributing state and federal funding to them.