Republican-appointed Georgia Supreme Court justice fends off Democratic-backed challenger

Two Georgia Supreme Court justices won re-election on Tuesday, NBC News projects, fending off Democratic-backed challengers in the battleground state.

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Incumbent Justices Charles Bethel and Sarah Warren, who were both appointed to the state’s top court by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in 2018, defeated attorney Miracle Rankin and former state Sen. Jen Jordan, respectively.

Justice Ben Land, who was appointed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp last year, ran unopposed as he sought a six-year term on the bench.

While elections for the technically nonpartisan court are typically quiet — a sitting justice has not lost re-election in more than a century, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — this year’s races attracted involvement from major players in both parties and millions of dollars in advertising. Bethel and Warren were backed by Kemp and some Republican-leaning groups that support restrictions on abortion rights.

Rankin and Jordan were boosted by high-profile Democrats — most notably former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris — in addition to pro-abortion rights groups and the state Democratic Party .

More tha $4 million was spent on ads across the two contests, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

With most of the expected vote in, Warren led Jordan 59% to 41%, while Bethel was ahead of Rankin 51% to 49%.

There was an even more significant difference in their winning margins in 2020, when Bethel won by more than four points, while Warren cruised to a 57-point victory.

The ideological balance of the Georgia Supreme Court was not at stake this year, with eight of the nine justices having been initially appointed by Republican governors. But both parties were looking to make a statement in a key swing state ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.

Georgia is set to hold high-profile contests this fall for U.S. Senate and governor. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is Republicans’ top target as they seek to maintain control of the chamber, while both parties are vying to succeed Kemp, who is term-limited.

The races were the latest in a string of state judicial elections that have seen an uptick in money and national attention in recent years. State Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin, another battleground state, set spending records in 2023 and 2025 when control was up for grabs.