Nonprofit leader challenges Republican incumbent for Georgia labor commissioner

Bárbara Rivera Holmes made history last year when she was appointed labor commissioner, becoming the first Latina to hold statewide office in Georgia.

Now seeking a full term, she is facing Nikki Porcher, who won the Democratic nomination in a June runoff.

The labor commissioner handles applications for unemployment insurance, collects and reports on labor market data, and manages career centers across the state.

The contest comes as job growth in Georgia has slowed. The state gained 8,500 net jobs in the 12 months that ended in May, growing just 0.2% over the year. The unemployment rate was 3.4% in May, according to the Labor Department, which is better than the national rate.

Labor commissioner is a role that often flies under the radar unless there is a crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the department was overwhelmed with an unprecedented number of jobless claims, causing payment delays and thrusting it into a critical spotlight.

Questions linger about how the department will manage an economic downturn in the future, as fears rise about the possibility of one. A 2025 report from the left-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute said the department “remains unprepared to handle recession-level demands.”

Here are the candidates.

Democrat: Nikki Porcher

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Southwest Atlanta resident Nikki Porcher is a nonprofit leader, U.S. Air Force veteran and former public school educator.

She founded the Atlanta-based nonprofit “Buy From A Black Woman,” which supports businesses owned by Black women through events, funding, educational programs and its online business directory.

Porcher said she’s passionate about helping people access work, navigate systems and build economic stability.

If elected, she said she would advocate for accessible and affordable child care, along with fair pay and safe workplaces. She said she wants to champion small businesses as drivers of workforce growth and provide stronger pathways into jobs for veterans and released inmates returning to society.

“I am the Georgian I am fighting for,” she said. “I am the Georgian who has been unemployed looking for work … a veteran trying to figure out my next move, a parent trying to make sure my son was equipped.”

Republican: Bárbara Rivera Holmes

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Bárbara Rivera Holmes is the current labor commissioner, appointed to the post by Gov. Brian Kemp after the November 2024 death of Commissioner Bruce Thompson. The appointment made Rivera Holmes the first Latina to hold statewide constitutional office in Georgia history.

Rivera Holmes is an Albany resident who previously served as president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce.

Since taking office, Rivera Holmes said she has launched a strategic plan and is embarking on a major overhaul of the unemployment insurance system, set to go live later this year.

The current system is “a platform built in the 1980s,” she said in a legislative budget hearing this year. “It was never designed for today’s volume.”

Rivera Holmes said her campaign priorities include empowering workers and businesses, restoring accountability through faster response times and stronger oversight, and modernizing the department so it “moves at the speed of business,” she said in an interview.

“I’m also focused on ensuring that opportunity doesn’t depend on your ZIP code,” she said. “Every Georgian deserves a path to prosperity.”