Christopher Michael Carr (born February 8, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th

attorney general of Georgia The attorney general of Georgia is a statewide elected attorney and legal advisor for the executive branch of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. They are a constitutional officer responsible for providing opinions on legal questions ...

since 2016. A member of the Republican Party, he was appointed by Governor

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician and former lawyer who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Deal served ...

as Attorney General to succeed

Sam Olens Samuel Scott Olens (born July 8, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of Georgia. Olens was elected Georgia AG in 2010, resigning on November 1, 2016 (two years prior to the end of his term), following his appo ...

. Carr was elected to a four-year term in Georgia's 2018 statewide elections and won a second term in the 2022 Georgia attorney general election. He is a candidate in the

2026 Georgia gubernatorial election The 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Georgia. Incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek election to a third consecutive term. Background Georgi ...

Education

Carr graduated from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Terry College of Business Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district judge * Terry A. ...

with a BBA degree in 1995, and from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...

with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree in 1999. Carr has been admitted to practice law in Georgia since 1999.

Legal career

After graduating law school, he practiced law with

Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an American multinational law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business ...

in Atlanta and later served as vice president and general counsel for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a free market think tank. From 2011 to 2018 he served on the

Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

. He also served on the Board of Advisors for the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter of the

Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered in Washington ...

Political career

Carr was chief of staff for U.S. senator

Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republi ...

for six years. Carr returned from D.C. to serve as Governor

's commissioner of the

Georgia Department of Economic Development The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is a department of the state of Georgia, United States. The GDEcD is responsible for managing resources to attract new business investments to Georgia, expand Georgia's existing industries ...

from November 2013 to November 2016.

Attorney General of Georgia

On November 1, 2016, Carr was appointed by Governor

and sworn into office the 54th

Attorney General of Georgia The attorney general of Georgia is a statewide elected attorney and legal advisor for the executive branch of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. They are a constitutional officer responsible for providing opinions on legal questions ...

when

resigned to become President of

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

. In 2019, Carr joined 17 other Republican attorneys general in suing to invalidate the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

(ACA), stating, "We believe the Court will uphold our position that the ACA is unconstitutional." During his tenure, Carr's office was involved in indicting a former member of Georgia's Board of Regents for racketeering. His office also indicted the Paulding County, Georgia, District Attorney for bribery and a former chief magistrate judge in Pickens County, Georgia, for financial fraud. His office also oversaw indictments of three individuals for elder abuse. As Attorney General, Carr has defended Georgia law that bans abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy amid court challenges to restore abortion rights in Georgia.

Resignation from Republican Attorneys General Association

Carr was chair of the

Republican Attorneys General Association The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is a United States national political advocacy group that focuses on electing Republicans as state attorneys general. Its Democratic counterpart is the Democratic Attorneys General Association. ...

, an organization that sent robocalls on January 6, 2021, urging supporters to march to Washington to dispute the certification of the election results in which Joe Biden won. Carr resigned as chair of the organization in April 2021 over his opposition to the robocall, saying he had a "fundamental difference of opinion" with others in the organization that began with "vastly opposite views of the significance of the events of January 6."

2026 gubernatorial election

On November 21, 2024, Carr announced his candidacy for

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

in the

Personal life

Chris Carr is married to Joan Carr. They have two daughters.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Christopher M. 1972 births 21st-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians Georgia (U.S. state) attorneys general Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Living people Political chiefs of staff United States congressional aides University of Georgia School of Law alumni