Appen Media Candidate Q&A: State House District 49
Sep 26, 2026
Sara Fuchs
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website and social media pages: https://www.saraforgeorgia.com/ https://www.facebook.com/saraforgeorgia/ https://www.instagram.com/saraforgeorgia
What is your occupation? Librarian
What neighborhood do you call home? Roswell
Why are you running for this office?
The original candidate for this office, Teresa Lin, withdrew due to illness. When she stepped down, I stepped up. I knew no one would work harder than I would to flip this seat. I'm a mom, a librarian, a PTA president, and I've worked most of the last six years in the State House as Chief of Staff to State House Representative Betsy Holland. I believe government works best when it listens to the people it serves, brings people together to solve problems, and approaches public service with curiosity, integrity, and a willingness to do the work, and I know I am the right person for this job.
What are your top priorities if you are elected?
Fully funded public schools, healthcare that doesn't bankrupt you, and affordable communities
What makes you a better candidate than your opponent?
My opponent says that our public schools are fully funded, but as a mom of two school-age children, I actually use the public schools he's voted to defund. In the early 2000s (when my opponent took office), the state paid for 56% of public school funding - now it's 51%. As PTA president, I'm the one who raised the funds to fill the gaps that the school could not meet. He says he's lowered our taxes, but Fulton County Schools just raised property taxes for the first time in seven years to cover education funding shortfalls. In addition, he voted yes on a student voucher program that diverts $141 million/year in public school funds to private tuition.
When elected, I will push to restore the state's historical share of school funding so taxpayers won't be forced to foot the bill and oppose school voucher programs that divert public school dollars to private tuition with little accountability.
My opponent called the Affordable Care Act a disaster in 2016. In 2021, he voted no on expanding Medicaid. Georgia is still one of only 10 states that hasn't expanded, and hospitals are still closing. Nearly a decade later, nothing's changed except how much more it's costing the constituents of District 49.
When elected, I will support full Medicaid expansion, which would close Georgia's roughly 180,000 person coverage gap. When uninsured patients go to the ER for care, that cost gets shifted onto insured patients' premiums.
Gov. Brian Kemp has told government agencies to submit level budgets as they prepare for next year’s budget cycle. Kemp has also cut income taxes. Do you support continuing to reduce government spending while also cutting taxes? If so, what is your plan to provide services with less revenue?
I do not. Georgia just cut a third of its income tax with no plan to pay for it, and it's already forced $300 million in cuts to things like disability services and school transportation. 'Flat budgets' sound neutral, but with a growing population and real inflation, flat is a cut, and it's already showing up as higher property taxes in places like Fulton County, where the state isn't covering its share of school costs.
I'd revisit further acceleration of these cuts before they fully phase in, and target any tax relief where it actually helps working families, such as a state Earned Income Tax Credit that delivers real relief per dollar spent and is far better than an across-the-board rate cut that mostly benefits higher earners and corporations. And I'd be honest that whoever becomes the next governor, regardless of party, is inheriting a structural budget gap from this approach, not a sustainable model, and pretending otherwise just pushes the reckoning onto the next legislature and the services people rely on.
Do you support changing the constitution to allow for the creation of new school districts?
I do not support changing the constitution to allow for the creation of new school districts. I think we should fully fund the districts that we do have and give our districts the resources to teach every child.
Data centers are a contentious topic for many communities. Do you support the creation of more data centers in Georgia? Why or why not? What data center regulations should be in place, if any?
I do not support the creation of more data centers in Georgia without adding guardrails and regulations. We need greater transparency and accountability on where data centers are being built and how it will affect the community BEFORE they are built, not after.
When elected, I will push for data centers to pay their fair share of new grid infrastructure costs, rather than spreading those costs across residential ratepayers.
I support revisiting the 2018 sales-tax exemption for data center equipment. Independent findings show that most projects would have located in Georgia without it.
I also support mandatory disclosure and recusal rules for legislators who hold personal financial stakes in industries that they vote on. My opponent's own financial disclosure shows personal stock holdings in Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Palantir, and CrowdStrike and he's taken $10,500+ from Georgia Power. In 2018, my opponent voted to create Georgia's data center tax exemption. In 2022, when the legislature expanded it further, he was excused from the vote. He's been present for creating this problem, but not always present for expanding or fixing it.
Georgia recently expanded access to its medical cannabis program, allowing new patients to receive medical cannabis cards and adding new products for patients. Do you support expanding the program further and allowing the sale of cannabis for recreational use? Why or why not?
I support continuing to expand Georgia's medical cannabis access. I also think we should decriminalize simple possession. I think allowing the sale of cannabis for recreational use should be studied carefully before committing to it, from a regulatory, taxation, and safety angle. But I'm not opposed to it - I just believe in making data-driven decisions.
Georgia continues to debate how state elections are conducted and every year there is new legislation on this topic. What changes to our current election system do you support, if any?
I do support changes. Under current law, absentee ballots must arrive no later than 7 pm on Election Day. How long does it take an absentee ballot to arrive at an elections office? Nobody knows! When elected, I will push for a postmark date for all absentee ballots, so that they are counted as long as they are mailed by Election Day.
My opponent was an architect of SB 202, which changed how early absentee ballots are sent out to voters. How long does it take a voter to receive an absentee ballot? Again, nobody knows! Counties now mail out absentee ballots three weeks later than before, thanks to SB 202.
I believe in secure elections but I don't believe in unnecessary guardrails. Our voters deserve better.
If you are elected, what will you do to help your constituents who are struggling due to inflation and other rising costs? What can the state do to make Georgia more affordable?
My opponent is running on lowering taxes, but Georgia's flat tax system means that the real money goes to people who need it least, while it starves the schools and healthcare system that families actually rely on. The cost savings are pushed onto taxpayers by higher healthcare costs and rising property taxes. I'd rather target relief where it helps most: a state tax credit for working families, fully funding our public schools instead of diverting money to vouchers, and stopping data centers and insurance companies from quietly passing their costs onto everyday Georgians.
If elected, do you promise to be ethical and transparent? If you are elected, what will you do to promote ethics and transparency in government?
The only way to restore trust in state government is by being ethical and transparent.
My opponent received $3,300 from Competitive Georgia Action Inc. on Jan. 8, 2025, a lobbying coalition focused on passing tort reform. Two months later, he voted yes on SB 68, a tort reform package that limits victims' ability to sue businesses and insurers. I will push for legislation that bars industry contributions within 90 days of a related vote.
I support strengthening the State Ethics Commission's independence and enforcement funding.
I will send out weekly newsletters during legislative session with plain-language explanation of my votes - my constituents shouldn't have to be experts in legalese to understand the laws that we are passing.
I will hold regular town halls and will answer every email and return every phone call. I work for the voters and am ready to be held accountable by them.