March 3rd , 2026 Len’s Political Note #794 Jen Jordan and Sha Miracle Rankin Georgia Supreme Court Justices
2026 General Election
Jen Jordan. Sha Miracle Rankin
While we wait for the people in Texas and North Carolina and Arkansas to vote in their primaries, here is a race to contemplate. For years, the non-partisan supreme court elections in Georgia were uncontested. By 2020, there were contests. Challengers were not successful, so there was only a single challenge in 2024.
A Democrat, former Democratic Congressman John Barrow ran against Justice Andrew Pinson in 2024. Barrow lost – 55 to 45. Neither a close race nor a blowout. Georgia Democrats see that the times may have changed. They could elect two Supreme Court Justices.
It has been a Georgia practice. No announcements until the election is looming. In 2026, the election is scheduled for May 19. Three seats are up for election. There are contests for two of them. Challengers Jen Jordan and Sha Miracle Rankin announced their candidacies together on February 24. Jen Jordan is running against incumbent Justice Sarah Hawkins Whitman. Sha Miracle Rankin is running against incumbent Justice Charlie Bethel.
Sarah Hawkins Whitman has the credentials. She graduated from the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Duke, and the Duke Law school. She had two federal court clerkships before joining Kirkland and Ellis in Washington DC. Back in Atlanta, she held positions in the Attorney General’s office, and then was the state Solicitor General before she was appointed to the Supreme Court, In 2018, by Republican Governor Nathan Deal. She had an opponent in 2020, Hal Moroz. A transplant from Brooklyn, a local judge and a prolific author, she walloped him by a 79-21 margin.
Jen Jordan will be her opponent in 2026. You pronounce her name Jer-dan. That should remind you of Hamilton, that is, Jimmy Carter’s Chief of Staff Ham Jordan. Buthat is her husband’s story. Lawton Jordan was Hamilton Jordan’s nephew.
Jen Jordan was the daughter of a military dad who left Jen and her hairdresser mom. She was, however, the top kid in high school – cheerleader, yearbook editor, and top of her class. She was an NPR listener who became a political junkie. For her troubles, she got a summer as a junior with Georgia’s brightest kids and a HOPE Scholarship that paid a decent part of the cost of college. The rest was paid for by the three jobs she had the capacity and willingness to work while she was getting her BA at Georgia Southern.
Jen Jordan’s undergraduate experience was followed by the University of Georgia Law School, a friendship that turned to romance with Ham Jordan, a law practice and a family. The law practice turned into a successful run for State Senator and an unsuccessful run for Attorney General. Her speech opposing a Georgia “heartbeat” bill prohibiting abortion grew from her family experience. Her speech made her a Georgia celebrity. She spoke about her eight miscarriages and the death of her daughter Juliette while she was pregnant. She spoke about her fear that someone like her could be suspected of causing her own miscarriages and be prosecuted. She is well enough known so that however skeptical Georgians may be about judicial challenges, Jen Jordan will not be easy to defeat. DONATE to her campaign. Read the article The Passion of Jen Jordan. It worth the time.
Charlie Bethel is the other Georgia Supreme Court Justice facing an opponent. Governor Nathan Deal also appointed him — first to the Court of Appeals and then to the state Supreme Court. With a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Georgia’s business school and a JD from the University of Georgia’s Law School, he practiced law, became head of human resources for J & J Flooring, and was elected to the state senate as a Republican in 2010. While serving as a State Senator, he was also J & J Flooring’s Director of Strategic and Legal Affairs and then head of Bethel Mediation. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2016 and to the Supreme Court in 2018.
Charlie Bethel also had opposition in the 2020 election. He defeated challenger Beth Beskin 52-48. He will be facing Sha Miracle Rankin in May, 2026. Democratic success in 2025 flipping two Public Service Commission seats with 60% of the vote makes Georgia Democrats feel some confidence that they will finally make a dent in the Supreme Court.
Sha Miracle Rankin grew up outside of Decatur, Georgia. Smart, her Church had a mentor program for kids like her. Miracle Rankin’s mentor was a Black woman who was a construction attorney. The opera, the ballet, the restaurants were a different world for Sha Miracle Rankin. It led her to Spelman College in Atlanta and the University of Georgia Law School. After eight years of private practice, she developed a specialty. As a partner in the CO Law Group and then Morgan & Morgan, she specialized in catastrophic personal injury cases – from truck accidents to medical malpractice. She had learned how to build the trust of her clients and, in a way, the trust of juries. DONATE TO Sha Miracle Rankin’s campaign. Help her get out the vote and win election to be a Georgia Supreme Court Justice.
Other State Supreme Court Races
Wisconsin Chris Taylor has an election scheduled on April 7. DONATE NOW. There really is not a moment to lose. A victory here will shift Wisconsin’s Court to 5-2 Democrat. See Len’s Political Note #731
Arkansas John Adams has an election scheduled today, March 3. DONATE NOW. Help with turnout for the rare Democratic candidate for an Arkansas Court seat. Right now, the Arkansas Court is entirely composed of Republicans.
Montana. Amy Eddy if reelected will keep the Montana Supreme Court with 4 justices proud of being non-partisan and 3 justices identified as conservative. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #749
North Carolina Anita Earls if reelected will keep remain one of two North Carolina Supreme Court Democrats. There are 5 Republicans. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #787
Ohio Jennifer Brunner is the only Democrat on the Ohio Supreme Court. She grew up in Columbus and went to school nearby. After law school she worked for then Secretary of State Sherrod Brown and was, later, elected to that position. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 2020. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #788
Ohio: Marilyn Zayas was born in East Harlem to a Puerto Rican family and grew up in Brooklyn. She went to City University, got a job with Proctor & Gamble, and came to Cincinnati to work. She got a law degree, worked on immigrant law, and was elected to the Court of Appeals. She ran unsuccessfully for the Supreme Court and is running again. DONATE. Make the court 2 Democrats and 5 Republicans. See Len’s Political Note #788.
