Overview

Michael Williams is a successful businessman and CPA that challenged a long-time establishment incumbent for the Georgia State Senate in 2014. After spending over $300,000 of his own money, he won the election in a landslide victory with 66% of the vote. In September 2015, Michael Williams became the first Georgia elected official to endorse Donald Trump for President. Williams stood by Donald Trump through the ups and downs of the campaign, a time when many Republican elected officials were afraid supporting the Republican nominee could hurt their own political careers. He went on to serve as the first Co-Chair for Georgia’s Donald Trump for President campaign, and also traveled across the country as an official surrogate for the Trump campaign.

Michael Williams is now a Republican candidate for Georgia’s Governor in the 2018 election. He is largely self-funding his own campaign with the support of small-dollar donors from across the state. He will remain extremely accessible to the people of this state, which is why he has chosen to publish his personal cell phone number throughout the campaign. Please call or text if you have any questions about Mr. Williams or the campaign. He will respond!

Michael’s History

A young Michael Williams (2.5 years old)

Michael was born in Lafayette, Louisiana to a military dad and a school teacher mom.

His first experience with his own business was selling candy on the school bus. Unfortunately, this was also his first experience with over-reaching government regulations. The school shut down his school bus candy sales. Michael was devastated but learned a lesson about government control that he would never forget.

Michael parents, Donald and Linda Williams

His father, a Vietnam veteran, took his own life when Michael was only 14 years old. In today’s world, he would have likely been diagnosed with PTSD, but in those times, this was not yet observed. Several bad experiences with the Veterans Administration compounded the situation.

This left Michael’s mom to raise four children as a single mom. Michael had to grow up quickly, becoming the man of the house at a young age, looking after his mom and younger siblings.

“There’s only one way to go after the establishment and crony politicians - FULL BLAST! That’s what my man Michael is doing. He’s a fighter for all the right causes. And you know I love a righteous fighter!”
- DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN, DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER

Michael is a graduate of his parents alma mater, University of Montevallo in Alabama. After college, he worked as a CPA for several large corporations. It wasn’t long before Michael realized he wanted to own his own business. In 2004, he bought into the Sports Clips franchise. Within 4 years he had 11 locations. He grew this into 18 locations and 160 employees throughout the state of Georgia and Alabama.

After surviving the economic downturn of 2008, his business flourished.  In 2011, he was again hit with bad news from the government. Obamacare would soon be rolled out across the nation. Being uncertain of the long term affects of Obamacare, Michael realized it was time to consider an exit strategy. In 2013 he was made an offer for his entire chain of Sports Clips  that he could not refuse. He sold all locations and in 2014, ran for State Senate in Forsyth county.

Having personally experienced government over-reach in his own business, Michael was determined to fight this in the State Senate. He challenged a powerful establishment incumbent for State Senate and won. Being the outsider and challenging the establishment, Michael had to use his own money to run his campaign. He spent over $300,000 of his own money to defeat the incumbent. The final vote ended up being a landslide victory, 66% to 34%.

In September 2015, Michael became the first elected official in Georgia to endorse Donald Trump for President. He took a lot of heat for this endorsement from the establishment but he was not deterred. He became the first Georgia Co-Chair for the Trump campaign and went on to travel across the country as an official surrogate for the Trump campaign.

After spending a term and half in the State Senate, Michael saw the Capitol culture that prevented conservative legislation from becoming law. He knew the only way to change this culture was to become Governor. On June 1, 2017, Michael Williams entered the race for Governor of Georgia as a Republican. He is largely self-funding his own campaign with the support of small-dollar donors from across the state. He will remain extremely accessible to the people of this state, which is why he has chosen to publish his personal cell phone number throughout the campaign. Please call or text if you have any questions about Mr. Williams or the campaign. He will respond!

Michael is married to Virginia, and the proud father of 4 children. They are active members at their place of worship where he has served as a Sunday school teacher. Michael is an honorary member of the Kiwanis Club in Cumming.

To learn more about where Michael stands, visit the issues page.