Matt Gurtler

Matthew Levi Gurtler is an American politician who served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 8th district from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Georgia's 9th congressional district in the 2020 election.

Early life and education Gurtler graduated from the University of North Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in 2012. He participated in R.O.T.C. and received a history degree.

Gurtler volunteered for Ron Paul's 2008 and 2012 campaigns for president, and served as a delegate to the Georgia Republican Party in 2013 and 2015. Gurtler was a political consultant since 2015 and was CEO of Matthew L. Gurtler General Construction.

Georgia House of Representatives 2016 election In 2016, Gurtler ran to succeed state Rep. Steve Allison in District 8, to whom he served as an aide. He won the Republican primary runoff with 61 percent of the vote and was unopposed in the general election.

Tenure and positions Gurtler described himself as a both a "limited government conservative" Gurtler "has a reputation in the House as often being the lone Republican dissenter on many of the party-backed initiatives, making him a bit of a pariah in his own caucus." As a frequent sole dissenter, Gurtler was termed "the Dr. No of the House."

Gurtler was the sole House member to vote against the proposed budget of Governor Nathan Deal (who also is a Republican). In February 2017, Gurtler had a dispute with Deal's chief of staff, Chris Riley, at a breakfast event at the Governor's Mansion, regarding the state budget. Following the exchange, Gurtler accused Riley of "intimidation and bullying tactics" and claimed that Riley had threatened to "cut all funding" to Gurtler's district unless he voted for the budget. Riley denied Gurtler's allegation.

Gurtler introduced legislation to eliminate the state's permit requirement for the carrying of concealed handguns, HB 2. Gurtler said that he regarded the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as "a no-compromise statement." In a March 2020 special session calling to declare a state public health emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic in Georgia, Gurtler was the sole House member to vote "no"; the measure passed 142–1. During the crisis, Gurtler also called for laws requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon to be suspended, so that persons in Georgia would be entitled to carry weapons (either concealed or openly) without a license.

2018 reelection In the 2018 election, Republican party leadership (including Governor Nathan Deal and state House speaker David Ralston) supported Gurtler's primary challenger, farmers' market manager Mickey Cumming, in a rare example of party leadership seeking to unseat an incumbent of their own party. He did not have a Democratic challenger in the general election.

During his 2020 campaign, Gurtler said he supports the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a rollback of U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. He opposed federal efforts to address climate change. In the primary, Gurtler and Clyde gained the most votes, advancing to a Republican primary runoff election.

Electoral history

Post Georgia House of Representatives Since January 2021, Gurtler has worked as the Chief of Staff to US Congressman Thomas Massie.

Personal life Gurtler's wife is Marissa Solis. They have a daughter.