Donald E. Cole is a veteran, pastor, author, municipal leader, and former Primary Speechwriter for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Born in Barnesville and raised in Bonaire, Georgia, Don enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from Gordon Military College. He served from 1973–1977 as a Military Police Investigator in the Panama Canal Zone and at Hunter Army Airfield, receiving an honorable discharge.
Using the GI Bill, Don earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Administration from Georgia Southern University. He went on to serve as the first City Administrator of Woodbine, Georgia, and later earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His career includes roles as Assistant Precinct Administrator for Tarrant County, Texas, City Administrator of Dalworthington Gardens, Texas, and pastor of churches in Georgia and the former Panama Canal Zone.
Don has long been active in public policy and conservative leadership. He served on the Georgia Department of Human Resources Board, where he championed expanded Medicaid waivers for individuals with developmental disabilities—work that earned him the National Easter Seals Advocacy Award. He later chaired the Georgia Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
His political involvement includes leadership roles in the Republican Party, service as a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention, and co‑chairing the David Perdue for U.S. Senate Steering Committee.
In 2017, Don joined the Trump Administration as Primary Speechwriter to Secretary Sonny Perdue. In 2020, he became the Republican nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, carrying the party’s banner in a district spanning 30 counties. In 2024, he was appointed City Manager of Coolidge, Georgia. In 2025, he joined USDA Rural Development as a Loan Analyst in the Single‑Family Housing Loan Program.
Don publishes the conservative editorial email “DonCole.Com – Common Sense from DC (Not Washington)”, read by civic, political, and faith leaders across Georgia.
He lives in Cordele, Georgia, with his wife, Leslie. They have been married 47 years and have one son.