This week, Now Georgia is running a series of candidate profiles for the open seat of Georgia Senate District 15. This will be the first time the seat has been vacant in 33 years.
Teddy Reese is a familiar face in the local and state political arenas. Growing up in a small town, Gordon, Georgia, with a single mom who worked as a janitor at his high school, set an example for challenging work and helping others that has served him well.
“My mom mentored many children through the years. She always told me that my job was to make sure they are helped,” explained Reese.
Helping others sometimes begins with helping yourself with a good education that presents better opportunities to accomplish those goals. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree, not one but three, including a Bachelor’s degree from Albany State, a Master’s in Public Administration from Georgia College & State University and in May 2012, he graduated Cum Laude from Florida A&M University College of Law.
Teddy Reese’s background
While collaborating with the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Teddy served as a Staff Attorney and Director of Community Engagement for four years and later worked with The Wright Legal Group as a Senior Attorney. He is now the principal owner and managing attorney of The Reese Firm, LLC.
This is not his first time running for office. Reese previously ran in 2016 for the at-large Seat 10 on Columbus City Council, losing to incumbent Skip Henderson. He ran against incumbent Ed Harbison for Georgia Senate District 15 in the 2020 Democratic primary. He lost that campaign by only 1,400 votes.
Success came in 2022, when Teddy Reese was elected to succeed Calvin Smyre for the Georgia House of Representatives District 140. In that capacity, he serves on the Consumer Affairs Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
“When I take my daughter grocery shopping, I share with her that food comes from a farm. I grew up in Gordon, tilling soil and planting with my uncle. We always had a garden growing up. Agriculture drives our state,” said Reese.
Indeed, agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry, contributing over $100 billion to the state’s economy and supporting over 370,000 jobs.
Lessons learned
Clean water and clean air are also among Reese’s priorities. In that capacity, Reese worked on the water battle, aka the Tri-State Water Wars, between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Driven by explosive Atlanta growth, Georgia fought to secure water supply from Lake Lanier, while Alabama and Florida argued the reduction of downstream flows, devastating Florida’s oyster industry and limiting Alabama’s industrial/agricultural growth. As of early 2026, the disputes are largely considered over.
“I want to take care of our people and the environment. I have brought funding to Columbus State and Columbus Tech. I have proven that I can deliver. I want to be a difference maker for all of the counties in District 15.”
You can reach Teddy Reese with any questions at voteteddyreese@gmail.com.
