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Request a DemoMeet Jen Jordan: The State Senator running for Attorney General of Georgia
- Playmaker: Jen Jordan
- Role: Georgia Senate member
- Tenure: December 2017 to present
Senator Jen Jordan grew up the eldest child of a single mother in Dodge County. A HOPE scholarship enabled her to go to Georgia Southern University and then law school at the University of Georgia. Since becoming a Senator for the 6th district, which represents parts of Cobb and Fulton Counties, Jordan has earned a reputation as a fighter and for applying her legal expertise to work with colleagues across the aisle. Now she’s running for Attorney General against Chris Carr.
State Affairs caught up with Jordan at her office in the Capitol to talk about her career and future aims. Her answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What was the professional path that led you to where you are now?
After graduating with honors from UGA’s School of Law she did a federal clerkship with Judge Anthony Alaimo, a former World War II prisoner of war.
“That’s what set me on my path of how I think about the law and what it should be: in service to the people,” she said. “And I think we forget about that sometimes.”
She went on to work for Atlanta law firm Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, which specializes in civil litigation. Jordan found a mentor, she said, with the head of the firm, Emmett Bondurant.
“He’s a huge advocate in terms of people's constitutional rights, and standing up for those among us that aren't powerful,” she said.
Bondurant was one of the lawyers who argued the 1963 US Supreme Court case Wesberry v Sanders, one of a series of three cases that helped establish the principle of “one-person, one-vote.” That case struck down the County Unit system in Georgia which gave state legislative districts unequal populations.
“I really saw how he practiced law and what law should be and that lawyers really do have a higher duty in terms of their communities, because we can do stuff other people can’t, we can go into court, we can hold the powerful accountable, we can file lawsuits demanding answers,” she said. “We can compel agencies to turn over documents or to be more transparent.”
Jordan leveraged that experience to then work with Gov. Roy Barnes on consumer protection-related issues taking aim against the predatory payday loans industry.
“For many years we worked at trying to get the payday lending industry shut down in the state, and brought numerous class actions against them to try to run them out because they were charging like 1,000% interest on loans of $250 or $500,” she said. In many cases, she said, lenders would set up shop around military bases, knowing that many enlisted folks and their families came from poorer backgrounds.
“Looking back, it feels like I was representing people from my hometown that didn't have access to a lawyer,” she said. This ethos, she said, guided her in filing legal actions later on such as a challenge to voter ID laws that disenfranchised elderly people of color.
“A lot of these people have been born at home, didn't have birth certificates or didn't have access to them,” she said.
Before she was a Senator, Jordan also sued then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office to give appropriate legal notice to Georgia voters whose personal data was compromised in 2015 when the state accidentally gave out social security numbers and other confidential information on nearly 6 million registered voters, an incident which some refer to as the Peach Breach.
“It's not about profit or money, it's about doing the right thing,” she said.
State Senator Jen Jordan in her office at the State Capitol this month. (Photo: Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon/ State Affairs).
Was there a defining moment for you that oriented your law career towards public service?
“So my mom was a single mom, but she had a beauty shop and – have you ever seen Steel Magnolias and the shop in that movie? With the ladies that are always there, and they're talking about everybody's business?” Jordan said, referring to the humble at-home beauty shop run by Truvy, Dolly Parton’s character in the 1989 classic film about the tight friendship between six southern women in small-town Louisiana.
“I basically grew up in that beauty shop going there every day and I would hear everything that was going on, people's problems: not being able to pay medical bills, children, abuse issues, husbands, and wives,” she said. “And one of the things I realized is, it doesn't matter who you are, or how much you go to church … bad things happen. And you just need someone fighting for you, and that's really kind of what has informed my law practice. And I think it also informs my public service.”
Jordan also points to a Georgia Supreme Court case she worked on in 2016 where an 18-year-old was sexually assaulted while under anesthesia and unsupervised at a dentist’s office. The court ruled the medical provider wasn’t liable for leaving the young woman unattended, which made the assault possible. Jordan disagreed with the court’s decision.
“If this is what the law is, this isn't what the law should be,” she said.
“It didn't feel like the voices of women and children and families were really being considered and so it was at that point where I made a decision that filing lawsuits, even pro bono to stand up for folks, really just wasn't enough anymore,” she said. Jordan said she felt an “obligation” to do more and so she ran for her senate seat.
What are your top accomplishments as a State Senator?
“One is actually trying to get the work done,” she said. Jordan recalled that when she first came into the legislature the state had found that property values and property taxes had been incorrectly appraised for years resulting in a sudden spike in taxes that year.
“I had to learn very quickly what was going on,” she said. “We're supposed to be problem solvers, and what I realized is that it's almost like treating your constituency like you do a client,” she said. “And so, that first year, I was able to get tax relief (for people).”
In 2018 there was a major case involving a Sterigenics facility and the emission of ethylene oxide into the environment that was linked to clusters of cancer patients in Georgia, including areas Jordan represents in Cobb County. Jordan advocated to have the plant shut down, at least temporarily, so an investigation of some kind could be pursued, but the state instead entered into a consent agreement with the company.
“I felt like they did that to circumvent the permitting process, which would have been an open process … So I filed a lawsuit basically saying they'd circumvented the permitting process,” she said.
This incident, she said, was crucial in her decision to run for attorney general, in part because a similar situation involving Sterigenics and ethylene oxide occurred in Illinois, and there the attorney general used his powers to temporarily shut down their facility. Jordan felt that Georgia Attorney General Carr should have done the same.
“Under Georgia law, he really was the only person who had the ability to act for the public good to go in and at least enjoin them temporarily, so we could kind of figure out kind of what's going on with the emissions,” she said.
State Senator Jen Jordan in her office at the State Capitol. (Photo: Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon/ State Affairs)
What was a time you faced criticism or were most challenged?
“I think one of the biggest issues really, that I've faced is that we don't have a lot of lawyers in the State Senate or in the General Assembly period,” she said. “And so it's very difficult sometimes to explain the legal implications of how laws really play out in the real world.”
“I wish more lawyers on both sides of the aisle would run,” she said. “Some of the better relationships I have from the Republican side are lawyers, we have a common language, but we’re used to fighting. That's what lawyers do. We fight. We get up and then we move forward. It's not a personal thing,” she said.
A lot of people learned your name after you gave a very personal speech in opposition to abortion legislation HB 481 in 2019, how did your life change after that?
“I think I got a lot of hate but I ignored it,” she said. “For me, it really was about trying to communicate to some of the Republicans — that I respect and I know— what the consequences were for women.”
The speech, in which Jordan shared the experience of enduring eight miscarriages throughout her life, was re-broadcast by national and local news networks. Recordings on YouTube have garnered tens of thousands of views.
“Maybe I was naive to think that it would change something, even one vote,” she said. “I think ultimately it probably changed some hearts.”
“Even though for me personally, it has probably caused more harm than good just because of people knowing so much about my life. But, I think in terms of the issues and the reason I think I was placed here, which is to advocate for women, I think it is exactly what I needed to do.”
A screen capture of State Senator Jen Jordan's dissent to HB 481 in 2019. (Georgia General Assembly Video Archives/State Affairs)
What are your top priorities for the session?
For the session, Jordan said she’s focusing on “nuts and bolts” issues. On the docket are finalizing the maps for the Fulton County commission and board of education. Also a priority, she said, is making sure district attorneys have the resources they need to work through case backlogs caused by COVID-19.
“There's a real issue around the state in terms of getting these cases prosecuted. And so that's kind of my focus right now. Making sure that that people's rights aren’t trampled, but at the same time making sure that the system is working,” she said.
Because she’s running for statewide office, Jordan expects she won’t be getting “a lot of love” from Republicans to pass any major legislative priorities. Still, she says, she hopes to use her voice to bring “common sense” and let constituents know what’s going on.
“There are really powerful people under the Gold Dome, but ultimately they work for you.”
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Education activist Beth Majeroni challenges state Sen. Ben Watson in GOP primary
The Gist In a rare primary challenge, incumbent Republican Sen. Ben Watson faces conservative education activist Beth Majeroni in the state Senate District 1 race in the Savannah area. Watson has run unopposed or handily defeated Democratic challengers in seven previous general elections and hasn’t faced a Republican challenger since 2010, when he won 65% …
Senate District 53 incumbent Colton Moore draws criticism, challengers in his re-election bid
Senate District 53 is in the far northwest corner of Georgia, home of Lookout Mountain, Civil War reenactments and conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s a mostly white and Republican working-class pocket of the state where some people identify more Tennessean than Georgian.
Like Taylor Greene, state Sen. Colton Moore gained national attention and made a name for himself in the district through the same type of incendiary politics.
Moore’s antics have drawn Republican challenger Angela Pence for the May 21 primary election. Democrat Bart Bryant will be on the primary ballot next week and will face the Republican primary winner in November’s general election.
Pence, in March, told State Affairs: “While Moore grandstands for retweets and shares, real crises in his district, like toxic water contamination in our schools and skyrocketing property taxes — due to an outdated education funding formula — have gone unaddressed.”
Moore’s predecessor, Jeff Mullis, is supporting Pence.
“He doesn’t represent his district very well,” Jeff Mullis, who represented Senate District 53 for 22 years before retiring in 2022, told State Affairs. “He has been in the House for two years and now in the Senate, and he has never passed a bill of any kind that is his. He can’t influence a bill. He can’t even pass gas.”
The Senate Republican Caucus kicked Moore out last September after he launched verbal attacks against fellow Republicans for refusing to go along with him in his call for a special session to take action against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Willis is prosecuting former President Donald Trump for election interference. Moore predicted a civil war if Trump doesn’t win in November.
Then, in March, the state House of Representatives banned Moore from the chamber after a tirade against the late Speaker of the House David Ralston.
Moore and Ralston crossed swords numerous times during Moore’s time in the House, where in 2018 he became the youngest elected official in Georgia history at 24, representing District 1. He was elected to the Senate in 2022.
Moore repeatedly voted against dozens of key bills in this year’s session, including ones involving child trafficking and law enforcement. He was the only senator to vote no on the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which included tax cuts.
“He’s refused to help his local communities, cities and counties when they’ve had a request,” Mullis said. “He’s stopped grants for the area because of his actions.”
State Affairs repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to reach Moore for a response and to learn of his legislative priorities if he were to win a second term in the Senate. He said in March that criminal justice reform was a priority.
Moore has said previously that he and his staff spend hours, sometimes days, reviewing legislation coming up for votes. He said he follows “a strict standard of principles.”
“When it comes to a piece of legislation, and in my opinion, any piece of legislation that misuses taxpayer money, it’s not the proper role of government. I typically vote against that,” Moore told State Affairs in March. “Bills that subdue individuals’ freedoms that shouldn’t be subdued, legislation that I think grants government power that it shouldn’t have, anything like that.”
Moore’s politics have been heavily influenced by the Georgia Freedom Caucus, for which he is the vice chair. It favors social conservatism and small government and opposes immigration reform.
Moore’s challengers say his behavior is keeping things from getting done in their district, which includes Chattooga, Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties. The district also includes northwest Floyd County and the unincorporated Floyd County community of Armuchee.
Democratic challenger Bart Bryant said Moore’s Ralston rant prompted him to run against the incumbent. Bryant planned to run against Taylor Greene but ceded the race to fellow Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army brigadier general.
“Mr. Colton Moore has zero respect,” said Bryant, an electrician living in Menlo. “That doesn’t represent me. We need to respect one another. I’m running on respect to start with.”
Bryant said issues in the district are going unaddressed, such as mental health and overcrowded jails. As a former sheriff’s deputy, he’d work to get better pay for law enforcement personnel.
Pence also did not respond to State Affairs for comment but in the March interview zeroed in on Moore’s performative representation.
“The people don’t need any more unhinged sideshows — they need someone who will roll up their sleeves, put in the real work and score concrete wins that positively impact their daily lives,” she said.
Pence is a former Libertarian who tried unsuccessfully to get on the Georgia ballot to run against Taylor Greene in 2022. The small-business owner believes in limited government as well as economic and individual freedom. She is a lifelong North Georgia mountain resident who homeschools her children.
Incumbent Colton Moore
Age: 30
Residence: Trenton
Occupation: auctioneer and truck driver
Party affiliation: Republican
Key platform issues: Criminal justice reform
Previous public service experience: Georgia House of Representatives from 2019 – 2021; Georgia Senate, January 2023-present.
Campaign cash on hand: $24,410.33**
Family: Information not available
**Data as of May 8. Information is from the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission
challenger angela pence
Age: Early 30s
Residence: Chickamauga
Occupation: Small-business owner
Party affiliation: Republican
Why I’m running: “I’m running to be the voice for ordinary citizens who want real results,” she told The Mountain-Valley Independent.
Key platform issues: She is anti-abortion.. She is against government funding of gender-affirming care for minors. She is an advocate for “true school choice” and will work to “remove government tape and ridiculous requirements so that we can get the power back into the hands of the educators.”
What is your advantage over the other candidates?: She plans to bring principled, effective leadership to a district that has gone unheard.
Previous public or community service experience: She has coached youth sports and is active in the local chamber of commerce as well as various civic and grassroots initiatives.
Campaign cash on hand: $1,701.65***
Family: Military wife and mother who homeschools her nine children.
***Data as of May 7. Information is from the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission
Challenger Bart Alexander Bryant
Age: 58
Residence: Menlo
Occupation: Electrician
Party affiliation: Democrat
Why I’m running: He says the incumbent’s behavior in the Legislature is disrespectful.
Key platform issues: Mental health issues: They’re “a problem statewide.” Second Amendment: “If you haven’t committed crimes and you want to own a firearm, you can own it.” Abortion rights: “I hate abortion but there’s a place for it in our society.” Better pay for law enforcement.
What is your advantage over the other candidates?: “I’ve worked a real job all my life. I kind of have my finger on the pulse of what the public talks about. [Being a senator is] not a real hard job. All you have to do is listen and vote appropriately. I’ll be able to communicate across the [political] aisle.”
Previous public or community service experience: He has been a longtime member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he served as a shop steward, a liaison between union leaders and members. He is a former Chattooga County deputy sheriff. “Being a peace officer, you have to make some hard decisions.”
Campaign cash on hand: Bryant said he is financing his campaign with about $500 of his own money.
Family: Married to wife April for 36 years.
Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
House leadership sets up committee to look into licensing delays, prompting pushback from Raffensperger
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Three of the four candidates for Georgia House District 56 in southwest Atlanta are scheduled to appear at a forum in Fulton County next week, just a few days ahead of the May 21 primary election. Rep. Mesha Mainor won’t be among them. The incumbent, an Atlanta native running for her third term, said she …