Mack Guest IV

Mack Guest IV
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 121st district
Member-elect
Assumed office
January 11, 2027
Preceded byEric Gisler
Personal details
BornFebruary 1984 (age 42)
PartyRepublican
SpouseMary Beth Lee Guest
Children2
EducationNorth Hall High School
Valdosta State University
University of North Georgia
WebsiteOfficial website

Mack "Dutch" Guest IV (born February 1984) is an American politician and a trucking and logistics business owner who is a member-elect of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 121st district. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, in the general election on November 3, 2026. He was a candidate in the 2025 special election.

Early life, education, and career

Guest was born in February 1984 to Mack Guest III and Camilla Morris Guest and has two sisters. His father was a former Georgia Bulldogs football offensive line varsity captain (1976–78). He grew up in Clermont, Georgia in the Gainesville metropolitan area and graduated from North Hall High School before attending Valdosta State University and graduating from University of North Georgia.

His father Mack III and uncle Judson co-founded LAD Logistics in 1997 and LAD Truck Lines in 1999, both of which are based in Watkinsville, Georgia and named after the initials of Guest and his two sisters: Laura, Amanda, and Dutch. Mack IV has served as general manager and executive vice president of his family business, LAD Truck Lines.

Guest served as president of the Oconee County Rotary Club from 2021 to 2022 and as president of the Touchdown Club of Athens from 2022 to 2023. He also serves on the community advisory board for the Oconee State Bank and on the executive board of the Georgia Trucking Association.

Guest is also the co-founder of South Main Brewing, a brewery in Watkinsville.

Political career

2025 special election

On November 10, 2025, 3 days after qualifying for the ballot, Guest announced his bid for the 2025 Georgia special election to replace Marcus Wiedower, where he faced Democrat Eric Gisler. Guest described himself as a "lifelong Republican". He centered his campaign on tax cuts, education, community safety, and transportation. Guest said politics would be a "short stint" in his life, and signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge for an Article V convention to enact Congressional term limits. Gisler defeated Guest by a margin of 198 votes, 50.86% to 49.14%. The election was considered an upset, as the district had voted for Trump by 12 points in the 2024 election.

2026 election

In the 2026 election, Guest faced Eric Gisler again, with the latter as an incumbent. Guest supported increasing the minimum wage, setting a cap on property taxes, lowering the state income tax, and reviewing the sales tax, alongside opposing state incentives for AI data centers and tax breaks for Hollywood film production. He opposed abortions without any exceptions and supported Flock cameras albeit with data access restrictions. He supported increasing mental health care funding and a bill to prohibit communities from dropping homeless individuals off to other places.

Guest defeated Gisler in the rematch, by a vote of 52.47% to 47.53%. During the 2026 midterm "blue wave", this state legislative race was the sole instance of a Republican gain in Georgia.

Personal life

Guest is married to his wife, Mary Beth Lee Guest. They reside in Oconee County, Georgia, where they have lived for 20 years. They have two children: a daughter and a son.

Electoral history

2025 Georgia House of Representatives 121st district special election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eric Gisler 5,874 50.86
Republican Mack "Dutch" Guest IV 5,676 49.14
Total votes 11,550 100
Democratic gain from Republican
2026 Georgia House of Representatives 121st district general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mack "Dutch" Guest IV 14,125 52.47
Democratic Eric Gisler 12,793 47.53
Total votes 26,918 100
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. 1 2 Aued, Blake (October 28, 2026). "2026 Election Guide: Athens Races on the Ballot". Flagpole Magazine. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  2. ↑ Verity, Kate (November 4, 2026). "Voters opt to return State House District 121 to a Republican candidate". Oconee Enterprise. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "November 3, 2026 - General & Special Elections". Georgia Secretary of State. November 3, 2026. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Homan, Maya; Williams, Ross (December 9, 2025). "Democrat flips northeast Georgia state House seat, pulling off special election upset". Georgia Recorder. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Becker, Lee (November 18, 2025). "Candidate In House District 121 Special Election Tells Oconee County Republicans He Decided To Run Following Community Requests". Oconee County Observations. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Mack H. Guest, III joins Oconee State Bank's board of directors". Athens Banner-Herald. April 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Mack Guest Named 2007 Bill Hartman Award Recipient". Georgia Bulldogs. October 22, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Becker, Lee (September 28, 2026). "Candidates At Farm Bureau Forum Oppose SR 15 Truck Bypass, Answer Questions On Property Taxes, Farmland Preservation". Oconee County Observations. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Ford, Wayne (November 19, 2025). "Early voting underway for state House District 121 race between Gisler and Guest". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Crowell, Ed (August 3, 2017). "Watkinsville trucking executive elected chairman of trade association". The Oconee Leader. Retrieved November 6, 2026 – via Athens Banner-Herald.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Becker, Lee (November 10, 2025). "Oconee County Voters Will Be Selecting From Only Two Candidates In Special Election To Fill House District 121 Vacancy". Oconee County Observations. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Weekly Bulletin - January 5, 2021: Club Assembly" (PDF). Oconee County Rotary Club. January 2, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2026 – via Rotary International DACdb.
  13. ↑ "About the Touchdown Club of Athens: Past Presidents". Touchdown Club of Athens. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Dutch Guest". Turning Point USA Action. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ Velasco, Donna (November 18, 2025). "Mack 'Dutch' Guest Pledges to Support Congressional Term Limits". U.S. Term Limits. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ Becker, Lee (September 3, 2026). "Oconee County's State Rep. Gisler Covers Wide Range Of Topics In Town Hall Meeting, Ends With Response To Attack Mailers From Texas". Oconee County Observations. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  17. 1 2 "December 9th, 2025 - Special Election State House 23 and 121". Georgia Secretary of State. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ Conradis, Brandon (December 9, 2025). "Democrat flips Georgia state House seat in district Trump won". The Hill. Retrieved December 10, 2025. Gisler's victory is a major upset, as President Trump won the district by 12 points last year, Decision Desk HQ data shows.
  19. ↑ "Democrat Eric Gisler Flips Trump +12 Georgia House Seat". Democratic Party. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  20. ↑ Becker, Lee (September 21, 2026). "Republican State House District 121 Candidate Guest Rejects Current Plans For Truck Bypass Of Watkinsville In Town Hall Meeting". Oconee County Observations. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  21. ↑ Stein, Chris (November 5, 2026). "Not just Congress: Democrats' blue wave washes over state legislatures across US". The Guardian. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  22. ↑ Williams, Ross; Homan, Maya (November 4, 2026). "Democrats say they have flipped Georgia's state House; some races are still unsettled". Georgia Recorder. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Joyce Lynn Poitevint obituary". The Post-Searchlight. December 16, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2026.

Notes

  1. ↑ On November 18, 2025, Guest was quoted as saying, "Lot of people my age. I'm 41."