Benjie Lewis Harbin (October 28, 1963 – April 30, 2025) was an American lobbyist and politician of the Republican Party who was involved in Georgian politics.

Life and career

Harbin was born in

Lyons, Georgia Lyons is a city in Toombs County, Georgia, Toombs County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 4,239 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Toombs County. History Lyons was founded as a depot on the Central of Georg ...

on October 28, 1963. He received an associate of science degree in business administration from

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

. Harbin was the chair of the Republican Party in Richmond County from 1990 until 1991 and again from 1993 until 1994. He succeeded Martha Moore to represent District 113 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 (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

, which represents Columbia County. He served on the house from 1994 until July 7, 2015. Following his resignation, Harbin became a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

. He was succeeded by Jodi Lott. While on the Georgia House of Representatives, Harbin was the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations from 2005 until 2011. His other chairmanships include vice-chair of Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, chair of Subcommittee on Energy, Utilities, & Telecommunications and chair of Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax. Harbin endorsed Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican Primary. Harbin was charged with

reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving violation related to aggressive driving that generally consists of driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious o ...

in October 2008, for which he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service. He had been charged with

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

in May 2007 and had faced additional charges of striking a fixed object and failure to maintain lane, which were dropped. Harbin married Hope Whitfield in 1989, with whom he had two children. His daughter, Caitlin, died in 2023. Harbin died at a hotel in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

on April 30, 2025, at the age of 61. His death is considered as being natural with no suspicion of foul play.

References

Notes

External links

*
Rep. Ben Harbin (R-122) Biography
(PDF) – Georgia House of Representatives
Ben L. Harbin
at

BakerHostetler BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. History , the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in t ...

's website
Former State Rep. Ben Harbin – Biography

LegiStorm LegiStorm is a website and research organization known for posting salaries and personal information on politicians and political staffers. History It was founded in the fall of 2006 by Jock Friedly. At the time, it operated out of an old schoo ...

Ben Harbin's Biography

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbin, Ben 1963 births 2025 deaths People from Lyons, Georgia Georgia Military College alumni American lobbyists Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives American politicians convicted of crimes