Atlanta, November 14, 2025 — Four years ago, State Rep. Sam Park became the first Asian American to hold a leadership post in the Georgia House Democratic Caucus. In January, he’ll hold the same title with a very different word in front of it.
House Democrats elected Park (D-Lawrenceville) as House Majority Whip for the 2027–2028 legislative term during caucus elections on Thursday, Nov. 12. The vote came nine days after a midterm election that handed Democrats control of the Georgia House for the first time since 2004.
Park served as House Minority Whip for the past two terms. Now he moves into the majority whip’s office as his party prepares to set the agenda under the Gold Dome.
“I am grateful to the House Democratic Caucus for once again placing its trust in me to serve as House Whip, this time in the majority,” Park said in a statement. “Georgia voters have given our caucus a new responsibility, and we are committed to ensuring their voices are reflected in meaningful legislative action and sound public policy.”
A narrow majority, and a lot of counting to do
The whip’s job is to keep track of legislation as it moves through the General Assembly and to make sure caucus members understand the details of the bills and resolutions they’re being asked to vote on. In plain terms: count the votes, and know where every member stands.
That job will matter more than ever next year. Democrats went into the Nov. 3 election holding 81 of the House’s 180 seats and needed 91 for a majority. Unofficial returns this week showed them ahead 92–87, with one race headed to a Dec. 1 runoff and another close enough for a possible recount. A margin that thin leaves little room for defections on tough votes, and the person counting those votes is Park.
Hugley in line to make history
Park’s statement also pointed to the caucus’s decision to nominate Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus) as Speaker-elect.
“I am proud of our caucus’s decision to nominate Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley as House Speaker-elect, and I look forward to working alongside her and our strong leadership team to advance our priorities and serve all Georgians,” he said.
If the full House confirms her when the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 11, 2027, Hugley, who has served in the chamber for 34 years, would become the first woman and the first person of color to serve as Georgia’s House speaker. Park and Hugley have worked side by side for the past two years, including rolling out House Democrats’ “Opportunity Agenda” together.
A decade of firsts
Park’s path to leadership has been marked by milestones for Georgia’s Asian American community.
Born in Atlanta in 1985, he is the grandson of Korean War refugees and the son of Korean immigrants, raised by a single mother. After high school he helped his mother open and run a family small business while taking community college classes. He went on to earn degrees from Georgia State University with help from the HOPE Scholarship, followed by a law degree from Georgia State’s College of Law.
After his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Park ran for the state House in 2016 on a platform of expanding health care access. He unseated a three-term incumbent in Gwinnett County and became the first Asian American Democrat and the first openly gay man elected to the Georgia General Assembly.
He has since become the longest-serving Korean American in the state legislature. He now represents House District 107 in Gwinnett County, and outside the Capitol he serves as general counsel for Positive Impact Health Centers, a nonprofit working to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Georgia.
When he was first elected whip in 2022, Park said he was “proud and honored to be the first Asian American to serve in a leadership position.” He was also a founding member of the Georgia Legislative AAPI Caucus, which launched that same year as one of the largest AAPI legislative caucuses in the country.
Park was recognized as the GAT 25 Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders in Georgia Award several years in running.
For Georgia’s fast-growing Asian American community, especially in Gwinnett, Park’s new role means one of its own will be at the center of how the new majority governs. That includes which bills move, which ones stall, and whether the votes are there when it counts.
The 2027 legislative session begins Jan. 11.
