Reynolds Wins Georgia Secretary of State Race

Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds won the race for Georgia's secretary of state Tuesday night, defeating state lawmaker Tim Fleming. The office oversees elections in Georgia, along with corporate filings, professional licenses and other business matters.

Reynolds will be Georgia's first female secretary of state and the first woman of color to hold the position. She is a former Fulton County superior and state judge who appeared on television handling family court disputes before serving in President Joe Biden's administration as a U.S. Department of Agriculture deputy assistant secretary for civil rights.

She replaces Brad Raffensperger, who ran for governor earlier this year without winning the nomination. Raffensperger drew national attention in 2021 when he rejected President Donald Trump's requests to find enough votes in Georgia to deliver a Peach State victory for the then-45th president.

Fleming, a University of Georgia graduate, has represented a Covington House district since 2023. He served as a Newton County commissioner from 2009 to 2013, then worked as deputy secretary of state under Brian Kemp and later as Kemp's chief of staff. Fleming had cited what he called irregularities in Georgia's 2020 election.