District 39: Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-Austell)
District 44: Rep. Sheila Jones (D-Atlanta)
District 80: Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) +
District 81: Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) +
District 85: Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) *
District 96: Rep. Pedro “Pete” Marin (D-Decatur) *
District 132: Rep. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus)
Challengers
• Senate
District 7: Tim Riley (D-Athens) *
• House
District 35: Jason Adams (D-Kennesaw) *
District 45: RuthE Levy (D-Marietta) *
* Endorsed by Atlanta Stonewall Democrats
+ Endorsed by Georgia Log Cabin Republicans
Judicial races
Cobb Superior Court (seat currently held by Tain Kell): Joan Davis
DeKalb Superior Court (open seat): Tangela Barrie
DeKalb Superior Court (seat currently held by Linda Hunter): Linda Hunter
Fulton State Court (seat currently held by Susan Edlein): Susan Edlein
Fulton Superior Court (currently held by Jackson Bedford): Jackson Bedford
Fulton Superior Court (open seat): Karlise Grier
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court
(seat currently held by John Lee Parrott): Jack Nebl
Court of Appeals (open seat): Sara Doyle
Additional endorsements by Atlanta Stonewall Democrats
• State House
District 2: Sadie Morgan (D-Rossville)
District 34: Earl Giddins (D-Smyrna)
District 103: Allan Burns (D-Lilburn)
Twenty
years
after
he
ran
his
first
campaign,
Tim
Riley
believes
he
has
a
chance
to
unseat
state
Sen.
Ralph
Hudgens
(R-Hull)
and
become
the
first
openly
gay
man
elected
to
the
Georgia
Senate.
In
1988
Riley
knew
he
was
running
a
losing
race.
As
a
Democrat
challenging
one-term
state
senator
and
future
U.S.
Sen.
Paul
Coverdell,
Riley
said
he
was
taking
one
for
the
team.
“Back
in
’88
I
knew
I
didn’t
really
have
a
shot,”
Riley
said.
“I
was
standing
up
for
everybody
who
needed
that
voice,
there
is
another
opinion,
there
is
another
side,
and
we
need
to
be
heard
as
well.”
According
to
his
own
polling,
Riley
says
he
is
competitive
with
Hudgens
in
areas
including
Barrow
and
parts
of
Clarke
counties,
and
is
hoping
that
a
last
week
push
can
find
him
the
4,500
to
7,000
he
believes
will
carry
him
to
a
win.
Unlike
1988,
no
one
in
2008
has
made
a
campaign
issue
out
of
his
relationship
with
another
man.
“I’ve
been
kind
of
surprised
by
it,”
Riley
said.
“To
think
that
it
was
an
issue
20
years
ago
in
a
metro
district,
and
now
in
a
rural
seat
it’s
not.”
Although
Senate
District
47
is
traditionally
a
Republican
district,
Riley
hopes
to
win
and
hold
the
Athens
area
seat
by
focusing
on
issues
important
to
his
constituents
like
hunting
licenses
and
education.
While
gay
issues
are
important
to
him,
he
hasn’t
made
it
a
part
of
his
campaign
and
will
focus
on
other
areas.
“I
think
I’ll
just
follow
[state
Rep.]
Karla
Drenner’s
pattern,
that
it’s
business
as
usual,”
Riley
said,
referring
to
the
first,
and
only,
openly
gay
person
to
win
a
state-level
office
in
Georgia.
“It
doesn’t
define
who
I
am,
it
is
a
component
of
who
I
am.”
While
Riley
is
optimistic
about
his
chances
of
winning,
the
Athens
Banner-Herald
recently
endorsed
incumbent
Hudgens,
saying
Riley
has
no
detailed
plans
for
what
he
hopes
to
accomplish.
Once
a
Democratic
stronghold,
Athens
has
been
split
into
two
largely
Republican
districts
and
Democrats
hope
they
can
pick
up
a
neighboring
district
as
well.
Sherry
Jackson,
an
attorney
and
pastor’s
wife,
is
trying
to
unseat
Sen.
Bill
Cowsert
(R-Athens).
Cowsert
chaired
a
study
committee
on
creating
a
hate
crimes
law
in
Georgia
this
summer,
but
Jackson
blames
Cowsert
for
not
bringing
the
bill
out
of
the
community.
Jackson
supports
an
inclusive
hate
crimes
bill
and
would
like
to
see
civil
unions
in
Georgia.
“I
wouldn’t
go
as
far
as
gay
marriage,”
she
said.
“I
think
civil
unions
are
fine.”
OTHER
STATE
LEGISLATIVE
RACES
Among
the
other
Georgia
General
Assembly
races
gay
politicos
will
be
watching
on
Election
Day:
•
House
District
34:
Atlanta
Stonewall
Democrats
officials
said
Earl
Giddins
sought
out
the
gay
group’s
endorsement
early
in
his
attempt
to
defeat
Rep.
Rich
Golick
(R-Smyrna).
Golick
is
a
floor
leader
for
Gov.
Sonny
Perdue
and
voted
for
the
2004
state
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage.
•
House
District
35:
Teacher
Jason
Adams
hopes
to
unseat
Rep.
Ed
Setzler
(R-Acworth).
Adams
is
endorsed
by
Stonewall
Democrats
•
House
District
38:
Former
state
Rep.
Pat
Dooley
is
trying
to
regain
her
seat
from
state
Rep.
Steve
“Thunder”
Tumlin
(R-Marietta).
Although
she
did
not
seek
endorsements
from
any
gay
groups,
Dooley
opposed
the
2004
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage.
•
House
District
39:
Georgia
Equality
endorsed
Rep.
Alisha
Thomas
Morgan
(D-Austell)
who
endeared
herself
to
many
gay
voters
for
an
impassioned
speech
on
the
House
floor
against
the
2004
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
gay
marriage.
She
is
facing
Republican
businessman
Chris
Cooper.
•
House
District
45:
Air
Force
veteran
RuthE
Levy,
endorsed
by
Georgia
Equality,
is
challenging
Rep.
Matt
Dollar
(R-Marietta)
in
a
highly
Republican
district
in
East
Cobb
County.
Dollar
supported
the
2004
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
gay
marriage.
•
House
District
80:
Although
Michelle
Conlon
is
running
as
an
Independent,
her
campaign
has
received
donations
from
House
Democrats.
Rep.
Mike
Jacobs
(R-Atlanta)
has
received
the
support
of
both
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
and
Georgia
Equality
in
his
first
campaign
as
a
Republican
after
switching
parties
in
2007.
Georgia
Equality
and
the
Atlanta
Stonewall
Democrats
both
endorsed
Jacobs
in
2006.
In
an
interview
with
Southern
Voice
during
his
first
run
for
office
in
2004,
Jacobs
said
he
supported
gay-inclusive
anti-discrimination
and
hate
crimes
legislation,
and
opposed
any
attempt
to
implement
a
gay
adoption
ban.
•
House
District
81:
The
race
between
Rep.
Jill
Chambers
(R-Atlanta)
and
Democrat
Chris
Hutton
has
taken
a
nasty
turn
as
both
campaigns
have
accused
the
other
of
various
ethical
violations.
Both
Log
Cabin
and
Georgia
Equality
endorse
...
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