Letitia “Tish” Naghise, a first-term member of the Georgia House, has died. Kaleb McMichen, a spokesperson for House Speaker Jon Burns, said Naghise died Wednesday. McMichen couldn’t say where Naghise died or describe her cause of death.
The Fayetteville resident won a Democratic primary in House District 68, which includes Atlanta suburbs in southern Fulton and northern Fayette counties, before easily beating a Republican in November.
Naghise said on her website that she got involved in Democratic politics when Barack Obama ran for election in the 2008 presidential race. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2020. Naghise worked for the Democratic Party of Georgia, Census advocacy group Fair Count and environmental advocacy group Georgia Conservation Voters before making a successful first run for office in 2022.
She said she had worked as a paralegal and fraud examiner. She also owned part of a trucking company, T & C Transportation Enterprises, according to state ethics disclosures. Naghise was of Nigerian descent.
“Rep. Naghise was my dear friend and a treasured member of the Democratic Caucus,” House Minority Leader James Beverly, a Macon Democrat, said in a statement. “She made an impact from day one at the Capitol, showing up with enthusiasm and grace. She was deeply passionate about fighting for the greater good, which led her to a lifetime of public service and organizing.”
