Charles Hatcher

Charles Floyd Hatcher was born on 1 July 1939 in Doerun, Georgia, the son of Clifford Edward "C.E." Hatcher and Agnes Faircloth Hatcher. He grew up in rural Baker and Mitchell County country and kept a lasting attachment to the peanut farms and towns of Southwest Georgia.

He served in the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1962, reaching the rank of airman second class. After leaving the service he earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1969, then joined the state bar and opened a law practice in Albany.

Hatcher entered the Georgia House of Representatives in 1973 and served through 1980 before winning a seat in the United States House in the 1980 election. As a Democrat he represented Georgia's 2nd congressional district for six consecutive terms from 1981 to 1993.

His legislative identity rested on agriculture and rural development. He chaired the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Tobacco and Peanuts and fought to preserve the federal peanut programme, which his office said covered a large share of national production from his district. He crossed party lines on several high-profile votes, including support for the 1981 Reagan tax package while bargaining over peanut supports, while remaining a reliable vote for Democratic leadership on other issues. He also pressed for wider Small Business Administration lending in rural communities.

Redistricting ahead of 1992 remade the 2nd District. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. defeated Hatcher in the Democratic primary runoff and has held the seat since. After leaving Congress, Hatcher served as a Clinton administration appointee at the Department of Agriculture.

Hatcher was married to Krysta Harden, who later became United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Family obituaries and House tributes remembered him as a devoted husband, father and grandfather who balanced Washington life with frequent returns to Southwest Georgia.

In retirement he lived in Alexandria, Virginia, volunteered for Meals on Wheels and other charities, belonged to Washington Street United Methodist Church, and enjoyed golf while staying connected to friends across Georgia politics.

Charles Floyd Hatcher died on 1 September 2026 in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 87, surrounded by family. Local and national reports did not publish a cause of death.

A funeral service was held on 10 September 2026 at Camilla United Methodist Church in Camilla, Georgia, with interment at Oakview Cemetery. A memorial service was planned for a later date at Washington Street United Methodist Church in Alexandria. On the House floor, Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. and other Georgia members paid tribute to his public service and friendship.

Hatcher's legacy is that of a Southwest Georgia Democrat who put peanut farmers, rural lenders and small-town constituents at the centre of national farm policy. Colleagues remembered him as approachable and "old school," a moderate who could cut deals across the aisle without abandoning his district.

The man who succeeded him, Sanford Bishop, called him a true public servant whose counsel still mattered after their hard-fought 1992 primary. For many in Baker, Mitchell and the wider 2nd District, he remained the congressman who never forgot the peanut fields he came from.