Incumbent justices Charlie Bethel (left) and Sarah Warren (right) fended off a pair of Democratic-backed challengers Tuesday. File photos.
Two Republican-appointed Georgia Supreme Court justices managed to fend off a pair of Democratic-backed challengers in a hotly contested battle over the direction of Georgia’s highest court Tuesday.
Judicial candidates are elected on a nonpartisan ticket, and they are decided during the May primary rather than the November general election.
Incumbent Justice Sarah Warren held a comfortable lead over former Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan with nearly 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office.
Incumbent justice and former Republican state Sen. Charlie Bethel narrowly maintained his hold on a second state Supreme Court seat after personal injury attorney Miracle Rankin came within three points of defeating him. Unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office show Bethel with 51.1% of the vote and Rankin with 48.8%.
Both Bethel and Warren were appointed by former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in 2018 and re-elected in 2020. Supreme Court justices serve six-year terms.
In a statement, Warren cast her victory as a sign that voters were seeking to keep partisan politics out of the courtroom.
“The Supreme Court of Georgia is a nonpartisan court by constitutional design, and I am thankful that it will stay that way,” she said.
Bethel said he is grateful to the voters who elected him, echoing Warren’s sentiments.
“I am pleased Georgia voters reaffirmed their desire for a nonpartisan judiciary committed to the independent and impartial administration of justice and the rule of law,” he said. “I remain committed to keeping my oath and thank everyone who entrusted me with their vote.”
Jordan and Rankin did not respond to multiple requests for comment late Tuesday night.
Georgia Supreme Court candidates are running in a nonpartisan race. But it doesn’t feel like it.
Though the candidates were not running on a partisan ticket, Jordan and Rankin’s campaigns were backed by a number of left-leaning groups, including Reproductive Freedom for All, Planned Parenthood Votes and the Democratic Party of Georgia. Both challengers pledged to uphold Georgians’ constitutional rights, and faced ethics complaints over their campaign rhetoric. A lawsuit in the case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both Bethel and Warren received endorsements and financial support from high-profile Republican figures like Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, as well as from conservative groups like Frontline Policy Action, an evangelical 501(c)(4) organization that opposes abortion access.
A third incumbent justice, Benjamin Land, did not have a challenger in the race. He received over 1.6 million votes.
