Don Cole is a candidate for Congress and former speechwriter for US Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue. He was born in Barnesville, Georgia and grew up in Bonaire, Georgia.

He graduated from Warner Robins High School and enrolled in Gordon Military College Barnesville, Georgia. After graduation from Gordon, he enlisted in the US Army and served from 1973 – 1977 as a Military Police Investigator in the Panama Canal Zone and later at Hunter Army Air Field Savannah, Georgia.

After receiving an honorable discharge, he returned to school on the GI Bill to earned a Bachelor’s degree and later Master of Public Administration from Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, GA.

After graduation with his MPA, Don was selected to serve as the first City Administrator of Woodbine, GA, county seat of Camden County, home of Kings Bay Naval Base.

In 1983, Don moved to Fort Worth, Texas to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned a Master of Divinity Degree. While in seminary, Don worked as Assistant Precinct Administrator for Tarrant County, Texas and later as City Administrator of Dalworthington Gardens, Texas.

Don has served as pastor of Southern Baptist Churches in Georgia, and also returned to the former Panama Canal Zone to serve as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Balboa.

While serving in Georgia, he made annual visits to the Georgia legislature as a private citizen to promote public policy that reflected his values of limited government and individual freedom.

Don became active in the Republican Party in 2000. In 2002 he served as the Dougherty County Co-Chair for Sonny Perdue for Governor Campaign.

After Sonny Perdue’s historic upset victory as Georgia’s first Republican Governor since reconstruction, Don authored a book about the campaign, “Grassroots: Leading Others to Accomplish the Impossible.”

Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Don to the Board of the Georgia Department of Human Resources in 2003 where he served as Board Secretary and Chair of several committees including Public Health and DFACS.

During his tenure on the DHR Board, Don became an advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities. He pushed for additional Medicaid waivers which gave individuals with developmental disabilities and their families an avenue to live more independently out of institutional settings. Because of his advocacy, Don was awarded the National Easter Seals Advocacy Award.

In 2009 Governor Perdue appointed Don to the newly formed Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. He served as Chairman until the end of his term in 2013.

Don served in leadership roles in the Republican Party including, Chairman of the Dougherty County GOP, Chairman of the 2nd Congressional District GOP, and Chairman of the Crisp County GOP. He also served on the State Committee and Nominating Committee for the Georgia GOP and was a delegate to the 2012 GOP National Convention in Tampa, Florida.

In 2013, he served as Co-Chair of the David Perdue for Senate Steering Committee. In 2017, Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, appointed Don to serve in the Trump administration as Perdue’s primary speechwriter.

On February 1, 2020, Don resigned as Secretary Perdue’s speechwriter to announce his candidacy for the US House of Representatives, 2nd District of Georgia in the 2020 election cycle.

Don writes a conservative editorial e-mail, “Note from Don Cole” that reaches an audience of conservative leaders across the State of Georgia.

Don currently lives in Cordele, Georgia with his wife Leslie. They have been married 42 years and have one son.