Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia
Black was the Republican nominee for agriculture commissioner in 2006, [2] but was defeated by Democrat Tommy Irvin,a 37-year incumbent. [4] In 2004 and 2008,he had positions on the Bush-Cheney and McCain-Palin campaigns. [2]
In 2010,Irvin decided not to seek election to an eleventh term as agriculture commissioner,and Black was elected to the open seat. [7] Black was twice reelected agriculture commissioner by large margins. [3] Upon taking office,Black ordered the removal of a part of a 1956 mural by George Beattie from the lobby of the Georgia Department of Agriculture building;the removed murals included idealized images of plantation slaves in Georgia harvesting sugarcane,picking cotton,and using a cotton gin. Black said at the time that he shared others' views that the images were distasteful,and that he wanted to depict a better picture of agriculture in the state. [8]
After Hurricane Michael hit South Georgia,Black was a leading voice pushing for federal relief. [3] Black opposed Obama-era EPA environmental protection regulations,such as proposed rules on pesticides [9] and the Clean Water Rule (also called the Waters of the United States rule),which Black called "wretched" (the rule was ultimately revoked by the Trump administration). [10] [11] [12]
Black is a supporter of Donald Trump. [3] In 2016,Black endorsed then-candidate Trump,who appointed Black to his agriculture policy advisory council. [13] At the time,Black criticized federal power,especially agricultural regulations. [13]
After Trump was defeated in his 2020 bid for re-election,Black supported Republican efforts to restrict voting rights in Georgia. [3]
U.S. Senate campaign
In June 2021, Black announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2022 to challenge incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock. [3] [14] In announcing his Senate run, Black said he intended to rely on his name recognition from prior statewide elections, strong base of rural support, and staunch Trump support. [3] He praised Trump for "all the good things he's done the past four years" [3] and dodged questions about whether he accepted that Joe Biden was legitimately elected president. [3] [15] Many of Black's largest campaign contributors were from Georgia agribusiness. [14] About one-third of Georgia's sheriffs, mostly from less populous rural counties, endorsed Black for Senate. [16] During his campaign, Black took conservative stances [3] and opposed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. [17] Donald Trump endorsed another candidate, Herschel Walker, in the Republican primary. [18]
