Jeff Chapman is an American politician and former businessman. A Republican, Chapman was elected to the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

in 2004 and reelected in 2006 and 2008. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Georgia in the 2010 race. In 2012, he was elected to 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 ...

, where he represented the 167th district. He was not re-elected in 2014.

Early life

Chapman graduated from

Glynn Academy Glynn Academy (GA) is an American public high school in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, enrolling 1,900 students in grades 9– 12. Along with Brunswick High School, it is one of two high schools in the Glynn County School System. Glynn Aca ...

in 1977.Aaron Gould Sheinin
Long-shot candidates struggle to break through
''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (July 3, 2010).

Career

Chapman, a businessman from

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...

, was a

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

executive. He began his political career as a Glynn County Commissioner, serving two terms. A Republican, he was elected to the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

in 2004 from the Third District, and was unopposed for reelection in 2006 and 2008.Larry Peterson
GOP's Jeff Chapman unknown statewide but popular back home
''Savannah Morning News'' (July 6, 2010). He had a low profile in the Senate, having not held a Senate leadership position or major committee chairmanship. The ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South Ca ...

'' described Chapman as "considered a bit of a maverick"; favoring "property rights, environmental protection, water conservation, gun owner rights, open government and limiting taxes." One of Chapman's major causes was an effort to combat redevelopment on

Jekyll Island Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, s ...

. Chapman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 2010 Georgia gubernatorial election. During his campaign, he advocated the repeal of the

state income tax In addition to federal income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-two states and many ...

and its replacement with a

state sales tax Sales taxes in the United States are taxes placed on the sale or lease of goods and services in the United States. Sales tax is governed at the state level and no national general sales tax exists. 45 states, the District of Columbia, the t ...

. Although locally popular, he ranked low in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

polls, and was seen as a long-shot contender. Chapman placed fifth out of seven candidates in the July 2010, with 20,636 votes (3.0%). Chapman returned to the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

by winning a seat in the

in 2012, running unopposed for House District 167. In 2014, Chapman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

Georgia's 1st congressional district Georgia's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is currently represented by Republican Buddy Carter, though the district's boundaries were redrawn following the 2010 United States Census, which ...

, coming in fourth place in the primary election with 13.2% of the vote.Daniel Malloy
GOP fight for coastal seat not strictly a race to the right
''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (April 3, 2014).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Jeff Living people People from Brunswick, Georgia Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators 21st-century American politicians Year of birth missing (living people)