Georgia Supreme Court races heat up with challengers in two key seats

Three of Georgia’s nine Supreme Court Justices are up for reelection this year, and two of those justices have opponents.

Justice Charlie Bethel and Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren have drawn challengers Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan, respectively.

Both Bethel and Warren were appointed by former Gov. Nathan Deal in 2018 and won their elections in 2020 for a full, six-year term.

Warren posted a video on Facebook Wednesday celebrating the anniversary of her being sworn in as the Presiding Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. The Presiding Justice acts as the second most senior person on the court elected by their peers. 

“It’s a nice anniversary to commemorate. I can serve up to three more years as the Presiding Justice. Of course, to do that, I will need your help to get reelected on May 19 on the nonpartisan portion of the ballot. Hope you’ll circle that date on your calendar and come out to vote,” she said.

Jordan and Rankin have positioned themselves as progressive alternatives to the current justices. They launched their campaigns in a joint ceremony at the Capitol in February.

Rankin is the former president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and works as a trial lawyer. Jordan, a former state Senator, was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Georgia attorney general in 2022 and lost against acting Attorney General Chris Carr.

Jordan posted a video on her Facebook page to let voters know a little bit about her and why she is running. Jordan said she was raised by a single mother, and she would go to her mom’s beauty shop everyday after school to help her out.

She said that she learned that bad things can happen to people through no fault of their own.

“When that happens, you need to know that there are people that are willing to stand up for you and to fight for you. That’s why I went to law school in the first place to the University of Georgia, and quite frankly, it’s why I’m running now,” she said. “I think it’s important that whomever is on the Georgia Supreme Court needs to be a person that is always going to put the people of this state first.” 

Because Georgia Supreme Court Justice is a nonpartisan position, the election will be held on May 19 at the same time as the primaries for partisan races.