DuBose Porter (born October 2, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, businessman, and former newspaper publisher who served as chairman of the

Democratic Party of Georgia The Democratic Party of Georgia is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the two major political parties in the state and is chaired by Nikema Williams. President Jimmy Carter was a Georgia Democrat. Sinc ...

and served as a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

from 1982 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader in the House from 2005 to 2011. He was previously Administration Floor Leader for Governor

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American author and politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as U.S ...

from 1991 through 1992 and ran for

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

in 2010.

Early life and education

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Laurens County, Georgia, Porter is the son of Dr. Lester and Katherine D. Porter. Porter earned his

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

Badge in 1970. He was a co-president of his senior high school class at Dublin High School, where he graduated in 1971. He attended

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, and in ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1975. After college, Porter interned in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, for Georgia Senator

Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiat ...

, where he was inspired to attend law school. He earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Cumberland Law School Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law school in the United States an ...

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

Career

After law school, Porter returned to his hometown and formed the law firm of Nelson & Porter. In 1982 he decided to run for the

. Elected in 2003, he represented the district until 2011. In 1987, Porter and Griffin Lovett purchased ''The Courier Herald'', the daily newspaper in Dublin. Porter is chairman of the board of the publishing company and runs the business side of the company daily. In 1998, Porter and Lovett purchased ''The Soperton News'', ''The Montgomery Monitor'', and ''The Wheeler County Eagle''. In 2002, they purchased ''The Johnson Journal'', ''The Twiggs Times New Era,'' and ''The Cochran Journal''. In 2004, they purchased ''The Wilkinson County Post'' and in 2006 they purchased ''The Baldwin Bulletin''. Porter is the business manager of these nine publications. Since 1987, Porter also has been a stockholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Dudley. In 1991 and 1992, he served as Administration Floor Leader in the House of Representatives to Governor Zell Miller. In January 2003, Porter was elected Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives. Porter is currently in his fourteenth term and serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Ethics, and Rules Committees. In January 2005, he was elected Leader of the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives. Porter is a former trustee for the Nature Conservancy of Georgia, former member of board of trustees and board of advisors of the

Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is the United States' largest statewide, nonprofit preservation organization with more than 8,000 members. Founded in 1973 by Mary Gregory Jewett and others, the Trust is committed to preserving and enhan ...

. He is the former president of the Georgia Press Association and of the Georgia Library Trustees Association and served as a member of Governor

's Preservation 2000 Committee. He was a member of the 1985 class of Leadership Georgia. He is a member of the Dublin Rotary Club. He is also a member of the

Gridiron Secret Society Gridiron Secret Society, founded in 1908, is a secret society at the University of Georgia. Gridiron has been called "the highest honor a male student may receive on the University of Georgia campus.". It has also been recognized as one of the "T ...

. On April 6, 2009, Porter announced his candidacy for

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He lost the Democratic primary on July 20, 2010 to former Gov.

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...

. On August 31, 2013, Porter was elected chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia in a special election to fill the vacancy created when former DPG Chairman Mike Berlon resigned. Porter won 62% in the second round of voting. On January 31, 2015, Porter was re-elected to serve his first full four-year term as chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Personal life

DuBose has four sons, also Eagle Scouts, Stephen DuBose Porter, Jr., Guyton McCall Porter, and twins, Asa Shearouse Porter and Inman Lee Porter.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Dubose 1953 births 21st-century American politicians Davidson College alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives People from Dublin, Georgia State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state)