Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds won Georgia’s runoff for secretary of state Tuesday, defeating Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett and advancing to a November race for one of the state’s most politically sensitive offices.
Reynolds, a former Fulton County judge and Biden administration official, prevailed in the Democratic runoff, The New York Times reported. Unofficial returns showed Reynolds with 241,813 votes, or 63.1%, to Barrett’s 141,510 votes, or 36.9%, according to Atlanta News First’s election results page.
She will face Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming, who defeated former state Rep. Vernon Jones in the GOP runoff. The contest will decide who replaces Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who became a national figure after resisting President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential result.
Reynolds enters the fall campaign arguing the office should restore confidence through transparency and accountability. WABE reported Reynolds said she is prepared to go to court to fight those trying to undermine democracy.
Her background is central to the campaign. The Associated Press reported Reynolds was a lawyer for former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, served as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and hosted the reality series “Family Court with Judge Penny.”
The secretary of state is best known for elections, but the office registers voters, tracks annual corporate filings, grants professional licenses and oversees Georgia’s securities market. That gives the winner influence over both ballot administration and business regulation.
Reynolds is trying to become Georgia’s first Democratic secretary of state since Cathy Cox, who left the office after running for governor in 2006. The race is expected to center on election administration, voting access and whether Georgia changes how it casts ballots before 2028.
