Georgia governor names labor commissioner and vaults first Hispanic woman into statewide office

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday appointed Bárbara Rivera Holmes, the head of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, as the state’s next labor commissioner.

Rivera Holmes replaces Bruce Thompson, a Republican and former state senator who was elected labor commissioner in 2022. He died in November from pancreatic cancer at age 59, eight months after he announced his diagnosis.

Rivera Holmes, 45, is the seventh woman to hold statewide office in Georgia and the first woman of Hispanic descent. John King, the current insurance commissioner originally appointed by Kemp, was the first Hispanic man to hold statewide office. Although elected Republicans at the state level are still overwhelmingly white men, Kemp has made some diverse appointments, recognizing that the GOP needs to broaden its appeal in a state that is now only half white.