Mike Thurmond

Michael L. Thurmond (born January 5, 1953) is an American author, attorney, and politician. A Democrat, he was previously the Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County and a representative in the Georgia General Assembly. He served as Georgia Labor Commissioner from 1999 to 2011.

Thurmond served as the interim superintendent of the DeKalb County School District , the third largest district in the state of Georgia from 2013 to 2015. The district serves nearly 99,000 students with over 13,400 employees. Thurmond was the Democratic Party's nominee for United States Senate in 2010. He was also one of the last Democrats to win statewide in Georgia until 2020, when Joe Biden won the state in the 2020 presidential election. Thurmond ran for Governor of Georgia in the 2026 election but lost the Democratic primary to Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Prior to becoming DeKalb's Schools Superintendent, Thurmond was an attorney at Butler Wooten Cheeley & Peak LLP.

Early life

Thurmond was raised as a sharecropper's son in Clarke County, Georgia. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy and religion from Paine College and later earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

In 2016, Thurmond decided to run for the open DeKalb County C.E.O.'s office being vacated by term-limited incumbent Democrat Burrell Ellis. He won overwhelmingly in the Democratic Primary, and went on to win by a significant margin over his Republican opponent in the November 2016 general election. Thurmond began his four-year term on January 1, 2017.

He is the recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees from Clark Atlanta University and LaGrange College.

He serves on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society.

U.S. Senate campaign

In April 2010, Thurmond announced his intention to run for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson. He easily defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary, county employee RJ Hadley, on July 20. He lost the general election to Isakson, receiving 39% of the vote, and was succeeded as Commissioner of Labor by former state representative Mark Butler, a member of the Republican Party.

Gubernatorial campaign

In August 2025, Thurmond announced a campaign for Governor of Georgia in the 2026 election.

Publications Thurmond's book, Freedom: Georgia's Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865, was awarded the Georgia Historical Society's Lilla Hawes Award. The Georgia Center for the Book listed Freedom on its 2005 list of The 25 Books All Georgians Should Read.

Personal life He is married to Zola Fletcher Thurmond, and they have one daughter, Mikaya Thurmond.