State Rep. Greg Barnes (R-Jasper) will focus on ways to lower the cost of living and improve mental health in his first session.
Barnes is a retired business owner, realtor and licensed contractor.
“A lot of the talk in my platform is primarily about mental health because we have a lot of issues here in Walker County, and that’s multifaceted because of drugs and various things like that. A lot of people here were affected by that. They want to see something done, so I’m certainly going to be working on that anyway I can to help them in regards to that,” Barnes said in a recent interview with 1819 News.
Barnes said he also wants to focus on veteran support and lowering the cost of living.
“If there’s any way to reduce taxes, I’m all for that. I’ve always been about lowering taxes,” Barnes said.
In September, Barnes won a special election for House District 13, defeating Dustin Beaty.
“It was a pretty strong statement by the community that they liked what I had to offer, and now I’m putting it to work for them. They’ll have an opportunity to see before they vote how I perform in this legislative session we’re entering,” Barnes said.
Shortly after winning the special election, Barnes loaned his campaign $50,000 for his 2026 re-election run.
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