State Rep. Stacey Evans plans to run for Georgia governor

Georgia Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Smyrna, on Thursday announced her plans to run for governor of Georgia.

Evans, the daughter of millworkers from Ringgold, Ga., graduated from the University of Georgia with a law degree.

“I am running not only to protect the HOPE scholarship, which was the only way I could have gone to college, but also to fight to bring hope to so many Georgians who are struggling to make ends meet,” Evans said in a news release. “I’m running to bring good jobs to Georgia and help our small businesses so that every Georgia family has the opportunity to make a better life for themselves.”

Evans has served in the Georgia House of Representatives from Cobb County since 2011 and has fought against cuts to the HOPE Scholarship.

“I have seen, over my years in government, the voices of women, seniors, and families have been drowned out in favor of special interests and partisanship,” Evans said. “I don’t have political connections in Washington, but what I do have is the will to fight for a better Georgia — a Georgia that gives every child the opportunity to lead a better life. And I won’t let anything stand in my way to get that done. I will ask all Georgians to join me to give the power in Georgia back to the people.”

Including Evans, six people have filed paperwork to run for governor in 2018: state Rep. Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta; Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle; state Sen. Hunter Hill, R-Atlanta; Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp; and Rod Mack, a Democrat.