Democrats scored another big win on Tuesday, this time in a seat they’d already flipped from red to blue.
Clear as mud? I’ll explain.
Georgia’s 6th Senate District became open last fall when the Republican representing it resigned to run for governor. A broad field of candidates ran to replace him: three Democrats and five Republicans. One of those Democrats, Jaha Howard, lost to the incumbent Republican by just 4 points in 2016, and he appeared to be a top contender in the special election—until some disturbing information came to light in October. Specifically, Howard was found to have authored a long and disturbing series of anti-LGBT and misogynistic social media posts. He belatedly apologized for and deleted the posts, but these misogynistic and homophobic rantings are unacceptable for any elected official, especially a Democrat.
Thankfully, another strong candidate and progressive Democrat was already running in SD-06, which went for Hillary Clinton by a 55-40 margin. Jen Jordan is a first-time candidate, but she’s no stranger to fighting for progressive causes. As an attorney, she stood up in court for victims of sexual assault and predatory lenders, and she fought on the front lines against the GOP’s war on voting. Jordan is also a staunch advocate for public education, LGBTQ rights, raising the minimum wage, and expanding access to heath care.
Jordan’s 63-37 percent win is important, but this race was about far more than just one Senate seat. Next year, Democrats will try to win Georgia’s governorship for the first time in two decades, but if we’re successful at the top of the ticket, the last thing we’d want is to leave the GOP with a legislative supermajority that they could use to pass conservative bills and override Democratic vetoes at will. Jordan’s win will therefore be a boon to the entire state if we can win in 2018.
Contribute $3 to help elect Stacey Abrams as Georgia’s governor so Jordan can help sustain her vetoes!