Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website.
Governor: Political Note #421 Chris Jones Arkansas, Political Note #402 Katie Hobbs Arizona, Political Note #432 Stacey Abrams Georgia, Political Note #358 Laura Kelly Kansas, Political Note #407 Janet Mills Maine, Political Note #381 Gretchen Whitmer Michigan, Political Note # 414 Steve Sisolak Nevada, Political Note #426 Josh Shapiro Pennsylvania, Political Note #431 Beto O’Rourke Texas, Political Note #366 Tony Evers Wisconsin
Attorney General: Political Note #441 Jen Jordan Georgia, Political Note #425 Chris Mann Kansas, Political Note #415 Dana Nessel Michigan, Political Note #360 Aaron Ford Nevada, Political Note #367 Josh Kaul Wisconsin
Secretary of State: Political Note #437 Reginald Bolding Arizona, Political Note #409 Bee Nguyen Georgia, Political Note #435 Jocelyn Benson Michigan, Political Note #436 Cisco Aguilar Nevada
January 25, 2022 Political Note #441 Jen Jordan Georgia Attorney General
2022 General Election
Here are six states with multiple state-wide races that attract our attention:
- Georgia
- Stacey Abrams for Governor
- Jen Jordan for Attorney General
- Bee Nguyen for Secretary of State
- Arizona
- Katie Hobbs for Governor
- Reginald Bolding for Secretary of State
- Kansas
- Incumbent Laura Kelly for Governor
- Chris Mann for Attorney General
- Michigan
- Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer for Governor
- Incumbent Dana Nessel for Attorney General
- Incumbent Jocelyn Benson Secretary of State
- Nevada
- Incumbent Steve Sisolak for Gov,
- Incumbent Aaron Ford for Attorney General
- Cisco Aguilar for Secretary of State
- Wisconsin
- Incumbent Tony Evers for Governor
- Incumbent Josh Kaul for Attorney General
What is more, all but Michigan have a US Senate race.
For those who have been around awhile, someone named Jordan from Georgia should ring a bill. Jen Jordan https://jen4georgia.com had an uncle by marriage named Hamilton. When Hamilton Jordan was 26, he ran Jimmy Carter’s successful gubernatorial campaign. When he was 35, he was President Jimmy Carter’s Chief of Staff. For a year. We all know that the proper way to pronounce his last name and hers is as if it were spelled Jerdan.
Jen Auer Jordan’s family was less prosperous than the Jordan family. She was born at Camp LeJeune, daughter of a Marine. Her parents were divorced when she was in Kindergarten. She and her sister went with her mom to Eastman in South Georgia where her mother worked as a hairdresser, where the girls went to the local public schools and graduated from Dodge County High School.
The Super Lawyers website described her home town and county as “Less Mayberry… than Southern Gothic.” Jen Auer Jordan would revel in describing Dodge County – a place two-fifths of a five-hour drive from Jacksonville, Florida to Atlanta. Her south Georgia accent was so strong, even at the University of Georgia, where she went to law school, she would startle with her accent and her stories about the Dixie Mafia.
For college Jen Jordan stayed in South Georgia and went to Georgia Southern. An excellent student throughout, she outdid herself and just about everyone else at the University of Georgia Law School. A member of the Law Review, a champion on the moot court team, she graduated Magna. She made her way through these two public universities with the support of the State of Georgia HOPE Scholarship, United States Pell grants, and part-time work for minimum wages.
After law school Jen Jordan clerked for the Judge of US District Court of (of course) Southern Georgia. Next she spent a few quiet years as an associate in a firm in Atlanta. Perhaps organized by her husband Lawton Jordan, who she met at law school and met again at a Georgia political meeting, she moved to former Democratic Governor Roy Barnes firm In Marietta. There she won a series of cases against payday lenders and developed a reputation for expertise in complex civil cases.
Asked why Jen Jordan was a Democrat in what was then still an overwhelmingly Republican state, she would explain “it’s my Southern Baptist upbringing. Jesus was all about helping your neighbor, helping the poor and the downtrodden, helping those who are shunned. I took that to heart. That informs both my politics and my legal practice.”
Jen Jordan moved to a firm in Atlanta. She became an expert in jury selection and in the technology of the law. She created an app that was useful in selecting juries. She and a group of women created a firm with all women partners. Super Lawyers describes her law suit on behalf of a young woman raped by a dentist while she was unconscious from anesthesia. Opposing counsel argued the young woman could not have been traumatized because she was asleep during the rape. Jen Jordan won that case.
Jen Jordan branched out. She became active in her law school’s alumni organization and was particularly effective in reorganizing the group to raise funds for the school. Both the connections and the fund-raising experience were invaluable as she considered politics.
In 2017, Jen Jordan won a special election to the Georgia Senate, winning a seat in the north suburbs of Atlanta, replacing a Republican who decided to run for governor. In the state Senate, she fought allowing more corporate money in Georgia politics, restrictions on the right to vote, and the politicization of the entire election system.
Jen Jordan considered her next political step. She decided to run for Attorney General after a factory in her district found to be emitting cancer-causing chemicals into the air seemed exempt from consequence. She filed a law suit against Georgia’s version of a state EPA which did not act. She is running for Attorney General against the current office holder in part because he was unwilling to take any action to make the factory run safely.
There we are. Jen Jordan will be part of a team of outstanding Democrats running in 2022. Stacey Abrams, the country’s leading advocate for voting rights, for Governor. Raphael Warnock, inheritor of Martin Luther King Sr and Jr’s pulpit, to be reelected to the US Senate. State Rep Bee Nguyen, daughter of Vietnamese boat people, for Secretary of State. And State Senator Jen Jordan https://jen4georgia.com , the feisty daughter of South Georgia. Today, I ask you to donate to Jen Jordan. Really, I ask you to donate to each of them. And to others like them. Our way of life is at stake in these races.
Incumbents to defend for Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State
Arizona SofS Reginald Bolding (Open Democratic Seat) https://reginaldbolding.com
Kansas Gov Laura Kelly (Toss up) https://www.laurakellyforkansas.com
Maine Gov Janet Mills (Likely D) https://www.janetmills.com/
Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer (Lean D) https://www.gretchenwhitmer.com
Michigan AG Dana Nessel https://www.dananessel.com
Michigan SofS Jocelyn Benson https://votebenson.com
Minnesota Gov Tim Walz (Likely D) https://walzflanagan.org
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison https://keithellison.org
Minnesota SofS Steve Simon https://stevesimonmn.com
Nevada Gov Steve Sisolak (Likely D) https://stevesisolak.com
Nevada AG Aaron Ford https://www.fordfornevada.com
Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro https://joshshapiro.org (Open Democratic seat)
Wisconsin Gov Tony Evers (Lean D) https://tonyevers.com
Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul https://www.joshkaul.org
Wisconsin SofS Doug LaFollette https://www.facebook.com/sosdoug
Democrats who can flip Republican Governors or other state officers
Arizona Gov Secretary of State Katie Hobbs https://www.katiehobbs.org (Toss up)
Arkansas Gov African American Nuclear Engineer Chris Jones https://chrisforgovernor.com (Safe R says Cook)
Georgia Gov Ex State House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (Lean R) https://staceyabrams.com
Georgia SofS State Rep Bee Nguyen https://www.beeforgeorgia.com
Georgia AG Jen Jordan https://jen4georgia.com
Kansas AG Chris Mann https://www.chrismannforkansas.com
Maryland AG. Congressman Anthony Brown. https://www.anthonybrown.com (Open Dem Seat)
Nevada SofS Cisco Aguilar http://www.cisconv.co
Texas Ex Congressman Beto O’Rourke https://betoorourke.com
In some states, we don’t know who the Democratic nominee will be
Florida Gov Ex Gov and Rep Charlie Crist, Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried, and State Sen Annette Taddeo are the principal competitors for the Democratic nomination (Lean R)
Ohio Gov Mayors John Cranley and Nan Whaley have announced for this seat where the Republican governor is facing a primary challenge (Likely R)
Maryland Gov I count eight candidates so far for this formerly Republican open seat (Lean D)
Organizations to support
The Democratic National Committee (DNC). https://democrats.org
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) https://www.dscc.org
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) https://dccc.org
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) https://democraticgovernors.org
The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) https://dems.ag
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) https://demsofstate.org
The Democratic (State) Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) https://dlcc.org
Fair Fight https://fairfight.com Stacey Abrams organization to support fair elections
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Support Democrats. Sadly, Republicans have become enemies of democracy. Georgia’s Republican leadership is a perfect examples of this condition.
