GOP Swing State Justices Sweep In Rare Midterm Setback For Democrats

Two Georgia Supreme Court justices secured victories Tuesday against Democratic-backed challengers Tuesday in a rare set of GOP victories during the 2026 election cycle. 

Incumbent GOP-appointed justices Charles Bethel and Sarah Warren defeated liberal challengers Miracle Rankin and former Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan, multiple outlets reported. Former Republican Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal appointed both Bethel and Warren to the Court in 2018. (RELATED: Thomas Massie Goes Down To Trump-Backed Foe After Groups Went Deep In Their Pockets To Oust Him)

A third GOP-appointed incumbent justice, Benjamin Land, ran unopposed Tuesday, giving Republican appointees a clean sweep in Tuesday’s state Supreme Court contests. Though Georgia judicial races are officially nonpartisan, the contests were fought on clear ideological lines, with Bethel and Warren backed by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, according to The Hill.

Republicans sweep and win both Supreme Court Elections in Georgia tonight

🔴 Charlie Bethel: 51.6% ✅
🔵 Miracle Rankin: 48.4%

🔴 Sarah Hawkins Warren: 59.7% ✅
🔵 Jen Jordan: 40.3%

(85% Reporting) pic.twitter.com/iU9npLGOKz

— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) May 20, 2026

Jordan and Rankin meanwhile received endorsements from former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to USA Today. Jordan and Rankin also had the support of groups like Reproductive Freedom for All, Planned Parenthood Votes and the Democratic Party of Georgia, according to the Georgia Recorder.

“I am pleased Georgia voters reaffirmed their desire for a nonpartisan judiciary committed to the independent and impartial administration of justice and the rule of law,” Bethel said in a statement, the Georgia Recorder reported. “I remain committed to keeping my oath and thank everyone who entrusted me with their vote.”

“The Supreme Court of Georgia is a nonpartisan court by constitutional design, and I am thankful that it will stay that way,” Warren said in a post-election statement published by the Georgia Recorder.

Both sides spent more than $4 million on ads in the races, according to AdImpact data reported by NBC News.

The Republican back victories come as a recent trend of Democrats scoring recent upset wins in Georgia and other states. In November 2025, Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard flipped two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission, marking the first statewide victory for Democrats in Georgia for the first time in nearly two decades. Democratic candidates over the past several months also flipped several state legislative districts that voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump, including one in Georgia.

The Peach State is set to hold prominent elections this year, as Kemp is term-limited and Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff will face either Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins or Derek Dooley, with the GOP primary race set to go to a June 16 runoff.