A Democrat who twice came close to toppling one of the Georgia House’s top Republican leaders in the last two elections will be running for the State Senate in 2022.
Luisa Wakeman has announced her candidacy for District 6 in the Georgia Senate, which has been been redrawn to include some of the Mt. Bethel, Sope Creek, Sewell Mill and East Side precincts as well as the Terrell Mill, Powers Ferry and Chattahoochee precincts in East Cobb (see map here).
District 6, which also include portions of Smyrna-Vinings and Sandy Springs, is represented by Democrat Jen Jordan, who is running for lieutenant governor.
Wakeman is an East Cobb resident who lost by fewer than 500 votes in 2020 to State Rep. Sharon Cooper, an East Cobb Republican who is the House Health and Human Services chairwoman.
A former flight attendant and nurse, Wakeman registered her campaign committee last week. Her campaign website can be found by clicking here.
In a release, she said that “this is an important election and we must step up in order to continue to move the state forward. We have a majority party pushing extreme legislation that defies the values of most Georgians. While our kids continue active shooter drills in school, Republican legislators are pushing a law that allows anyone to buy weapons without a license.
“As hospitals fill to capacity and frontline healthcare workers have been pushed to exhaustion, legislators used their power to prevent lawsuits from covid-19 harm. After an election where parents, grandparents, frontline workers, waited hours in line to vote, legislators made it even more difficult for Georgians to cast a ballot, especially voters in Black and immigrant communities. We deserve representation that will listen to the people of this district.”
Other Democratic candidates for the District 6 race include Jason Esteves, the former chairman of the Atlanta Board of Education.
Qualifying begins in March for the May 24 primary.
In 2020, the District 43 State House race between Wakeman and Cooper was one of the more expensive legislative races in Georgia, with both candidates raising more than $500,000 combined.
After reapportionment, both Cooper and Wakeman were redrawn into District 45, which has a vacancy after the resignation last week of State Rep. Matt Dollar.
Dollar, the chief sponsor of the East Cobb Cityhood bill, said last fall he would not be seeking re-election.
Redistricting sliced up East Cobb into four State Senate seats. Most of it has been in District 32, which is represented by Republican State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick since 2017.
That district has been redrawn to include some of Northeast Cobb and parts of Cherokee County. Kirkpatrick is seeking re-election but has a GOP primary opponent in State Rep. Charlice Byrd of Woodstock.
District 56 will include much of the Johnson Ferry Road corridor and has been represented by State Sen. John Albers, a Republican from North Fulton who is sponsoring the East Cobb Cityhood bill in the upper chamber.
District 33 includes the East Marietta area and is represented by Democratic Sen. Michael “Doc” Rhett.”
Related:
- Democrat launches campaign for Ga. House special election
- East Cobb Cityhood bill passes Senate committee
- Cupid speaks out on cityhood, redistricting issues
- Cobb Republicans file bill to redistrict county commission seats
- East Cobb Cityhood bill sponsor resigns from legislature
- Cobb Republicans file school board redistricting bill
- East Cobb Cityhood bill passes Georgia House
- East Cobb News Politics & Elections guide
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