With Obama’s backing, Democrats aim to flip two seats on the Georgia Supreme Court
By David Wright, CNN
(CNN) — State Supreme Court races are normally quiet affairs in Georgia. Not anymore.
Two liberal-backed challengers will attempt Tuesday to unseat conservative-supported incumbents. Former state Sen. Jen Jordan is running against Justice Sarah Warren, and personal injury attorney Miracle Rankin is facing Justice Charlie Bethel. Justice Benjamin Land is unopposed.
Former President Barack Obama has endorsed Jordan and Rankin, while two-term GOP Gov. Brian Kemp has thrown his support behind the incumbents, his leadership PAC dropping $500,000 on the race.
Republican governors appointed eight of the nine judges on the court. But if the two Democratic-backed candidates win in Tuesday’s election, that raises the possibility of flipping the ideological balance of the court in 2028, when three more GOP-appointed members face reelection.
Years of high-profile election litigation in Georgia have trained a spotlight on the state’s high court, which has issued key rulings on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, the scope of state voting laws, and state-level efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutting a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to a fresh wave of mid-decade redistricting, has supercharged the stakes of the contest, with state judiciaries poised to play a pivotal role approving new maps. Kemp has called Georgia lawmakers to a special session to consider redrawing US House maps for 2028.
“I believe Callais is a powerful reminder that state courts matter,” Rankin told CNN. “So, when the US Supreme Court changes the federal legal landscape, more questions about voting rights, fair representation, election rules and constitutional protections will be heard and dealt with in our state court.”
Jordan, meanwhile, marveled at Obama’s engagement. “I tell you, I was blown away. We had no clue that it was coming.”
“You get a little notification in your Instagram,” she said. “I checked it, and I’m like, ‘Why in the world is the former president mentioning me?’”
“But look, he gets it. He’s always gotten it,” she added. “And I was just humbled, but I was also, like I said, this was a heavy lift coming in to try to communicate just what was at stake in this election.”
State supreme court races are becoming more important nationally
State supreme court races have been growing in political importance even before the US high court’s recent ruling.
Supreme court races in two other swing states, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, drew tens of millions of dollars in spending last year — notably including campaign trail appearances by Elon Musk in Wisconsin.
Democratic-backed justice candidates won in Wisconsin last year and this year, and in Pennsylvania in November.
The contest in Georgia hasn’t risen to the financial level of the races in Wisconsin, but more than $4 million has been spent on advertising, split about evenly between support for the incumbents and support for their challengers.
“This is the first time we’ve gone on offense, and we have raised a bit of money for it,” said Charlie Bailey, the state Democratic Party chair.
He pointed to the party’s successful efforts last fall defeating two incumbents on the state’s Public Service Commission as a sign of momentum.
At a campaign stop with US Senate candidate Derek Dooley, Kemp noted the importance of the judicial election.
“It’s unfortunate the other side backed by money that’s from outside the state is trying to make a nonpartisan race political,” Kemp said. “That’s not how our judiciary works in our state. And I would urge people to vote for the incumbents. They have bipartisan support from people who really understand how important it is to have a nonpartisan judiciary.”
Both conservative-backed justices also criticized the ramped-up campaigns. Heath Garrett, an adviser for Warren, the court’s presiding justice, echoed Kemp’s criticism.
“There is a partisan attack on our nonpartisan Georgia Supreme Court,” Garrett said. “Justice Warren enjoys widespread support from Democrats and Republicans alike because she’s committed to fairness and impartiality — not politics.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
