2022 Statewide Races Overview, Part One
(APN) ATLANTA – In our continuing coverage of the upcoming May 24, 2022 General Primary Election, this article is the first part of our overview of statewide races.
GOVERNOR
Former State Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta) is running again for Governor of the State of Georgia. She is the only candidate seeking the Democratic nomination.
A former City Attorney for the City of Atlanta and House Majority Leader, Abrams established a reputation as a moderate Democrat willing to compromise with Republicans in the legislature.
When she ran for Governor the first time, in 2018, she managed to rebrand herself nationally as a progressive. And she has become a nationally recognized leader on voting rights issues, stemming from her experiences with elections in Georgia.
Incumbent Governor Brian Kemp, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), Catherine Davis, Kandiss Taylor, and Tom Williams are seeking the Republican nomination.
Concerns with elections integrity, rather than voting rights, have dominated the Republican Primary.
Former U.S. Sen. Perdue has received the endorsement of former U.S. President Donald Trump over incumbent Gov. Kemp because of Trump’s belief that Kemp did not do enough to fight the results of the 2020 Election in which Joe Biden was elected President over Trump.
LT. GOVERNOR
Nine candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor: former U.S. Rep. Kwanza Hall (D-GA); Tyrone Brooks, Jr.; former State Rep. Erick Allen (D-Vinings); Charlie Bailey, who ran for Attorney General in 2018; Tony Brown; Jason T. Hayes; former State Rep. Derrick L. Jackson (D-Tyrone); R. Malik; and former State Rep. Renitta Shannon (D-Decatur).
APN has published interviews with former U.S. Rep. Hall and with Brooks, Jr. APN is in the process of reaching out to the other campaigns at this time.
https://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2022/03/29/tyrone-brooks-jr-seeking-lt-governor-democratic-nomination/
Four candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor: former State Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson); Mack McGregor, former State Sen. Butch Miller (R-Gainesville), and Jeanne Seaver.
Incumbent Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is not seeking reelection.
SECRETARY OF STATE
Five candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State: former State Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D-Lithonia); former Fulton County Chairman John Eaves; former State Sen. Floyd Griffin (D-Milledgeville); former State Rep. Bee Nguyen (D-Atlanta); and Michael Owens.
Former State Rep. Dawkins-Haigler previously ran for the nomination for the same seat in 2018. She advanced into a Run-off Election with former U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), who won the nomination but lost in November 2018 to Republican Brad Raffensperger.
Three candidates are challenging incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for the Republican nomination: former Mayor of Alpharetta David C. Belle Isle, who also ran for the nomination in 2018; U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA); and former probate judge T.J. Hudson.
Former President Trump, who has also criticized Secretary of State Raffensperger for what he believes is not doing enough to intervene with the November 2020 Presidential Election results in Georgia, has endorsed U.S. Rep. Hice.
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2022)