Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

Sheri Gilligan
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 24th district
In office
August 5, 2015 – January 9, 2023
Preceded byMark Hamilton
Succeeded byCarter Barrett
Personal details
Born
Sheri Smallwood[1]

(1963-03-25) March 25, 1963 (age 61)
Cumming, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Patrick Gilligan
​
(m. 1993)​
[1]
Children4[2]
Alma materUniversity of Georgia[3]

Sheri Smallwood Gilligan[4][5] (née Sheri Smallwood, born March 25, 1963) is an American politician who served in the Georgia House of Representatives for the 24th district from 2015 to 2023.[6][7] Gilligan was first elected in 2015 in a special election after previous representative Mark Hamilton resigned;[3] she beat out three other opponents to complete Hamilton's remaining 18-month term.[8]

Gilligan was born and raised in Forsyth County. While in high school, she competed at rifle shooting and set a new state record.[2] After graduating from the University of Georgia,[2] Gilligan moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked as an intelligence analyst for two decades, including at the CIA.[3][2] She also joined the Naval Reserve.[8]

She is also a substitute teacher for Forsyth County Schools; she previously taught as an adjunct instructor at Lanier Technical College.[8]

A self-described conservative,[9] Gilligan supports gun rights, wants to lower taxes, and restricting abortion.[3]

Gilligan plays the oboe.[2]

Elections[edit]

Special election, 2015[edit]

A special election was held on June 16, 2015 to fill Mark Hamilton's seat in district 24. Gilligan won the election with nearly half the vote.[10]

Special election results for Georgia House of Representatives district 24, 2015
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sheri Smallwood Gilligan 1,785 49.96
Republican Will Kremer 171 4.79
Republican Ethan Underwood 739 20.68
Republican David M. Van Sant 878 24.57
Total votes 3,573 100.00

General election, 2016[edit]

Gilligan ran unopposed during the 2016 primaries, going on to earn 25,996 votes in the general election.[11][12]

Primary and general elections, 2018[edit]

In 2018, Gilligan was challenged during the May 22 primary elections by Joanna Cloud, but defeated Cloud with 60% of the vote.[13][3]

Primary election results for Georgia House of Representatives district 24, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sheri Smallwood Gilligan 4,045 60.69
Republican Joanna Cloud 2,620 39.31
Total votes 6,665 100.00

In the general election, Gillian ran unopposed once again, garnering 23,646 votes.[14]

Primary and general elections, 2022[edit]

Gilligan was defeated by Carter Barrett in a runoff in 2022.

Primary election results for Georgia House of Representatives district 24, 2022[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carter Barrett 3,418 42.02
Republican Sheri Gilligan 4,042 49.69
Republican Ed Solly 675 8.30
Total votes 8,135 100.00
Primary election runoff results for Georgia House of Representatives district 24, 2022[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carter Barrett 2,317 58.79
Republican Sheri Gilligan 1,624 41.21
Total votes 3,941 100.00

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Forsyth County conservative Sheri Smallwood Gilligan to run for State House". votegilligan.com. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Rep. Sheri Gilligan (R-24) Biography" (PDF). Georgia House of Representatives. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Whitmire, Kelly (May 2, 2018). "Gilligan wants 'to continue the good work'". Forsyth County News. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  4. ^ Galloway, Jim. "Mereda Johnson, wife of congressman, wins top berth in DeKalb commission runoff". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  5. ^ Chandler, Thom (March 5, 2018). "Who is running in the May 22 Georgia Primary?". The Georgia Sun. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  6. ^ Kathleen Sturgeon (2015-07-17). "Gilligan wins House District 24 runoff". Northfulton.com. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  7. ^ "Representative Sheri Gilligan". House.ga.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  8. ^ a b c Whitmire, Kelly (May 20, 2015). "Field set at four in race for Forsyth state House seat". Forsyth County News. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  9. ^ Sturgeon, Kathleen (June 2, 2015). "Four vie for Georgia House District 24 seat". northfulton.com. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Georgia Election Results, Special Election, June 16, 2015". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Georgia Election Results, General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election, May 24, 2016". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Georgia Election Results, General Election, November 8, 2016". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Georgia Election Results, General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election, May 22, 2018". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Georgia Election Results, General Election, November 6, 2018". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. ^ "May 24, 2022 General Primary/Special Election Results". Georgia Secretary of State. June 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "June 21, 2022 General Primary/Special Election Results". Georgia Secretary of State. July 1, 2022.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheri_Gilligan