Bryan Miller, Zell’s grandson, enters race for lt. governor
ATLANTA — The grandson of the late U.S. Sen. and Gov. Zell Miller is running for lieutenant governor on a platform that includes restoring full funding of the HOPE Scholarship program his grandfather started.
Bryan Miller of Watkinsville announced Thursday he will seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Republican Geoff Duncan as Georgia’s lieutenant governor. Duncan is not seeking reelection.
Miller recently stepped down as executive chairman of the Zell Miller Foundation, a nonprofit he launched in 2016 to build on the elder Miller’s legacy by focusing on education, leadership and public service.
Zell Miller, who died in 2018, was the driving force behind the Georgia Lottery, which voters approved in a 1992 referendum to raise money to start the HOPE program as well as statewide voluntary prekindergarten.
The General Assembly began reducing HOPE coverage in 2011, citing the financial stress growing college enrollments and rising tuition costs were putting on the program.
“I am running to restore the HOPE Scholarship back to its original promise of providing full tuition to any student who earns a ‘B’ average or higher,” Bryan Miller said. “Since my grandfather created it, nearly 2 million Georgians have gone to college on HOPE. Unfortunately, too few poor and minority students have been able to enjoy the full benefits of HOPE as intended.”