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

2026 ElectionRepublican-appointed Georgia Supreme Court justice fends off Democratic-backed challengerNBC News projects Justice Sarah Warren won another six-year term on the state’s high court, while a fellow incumbent was locked in a tight race. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Incumbent Georgia Supreme Court Justices Charles Bethel and Sarah Warren faced Democratic-backed challengers Tuesday.Supreme Court of GeorgiaShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 19, 2026, 8:52 PM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezConservative Georgia Supreme Court Justice Sarah Warren won re-election on Tuesday, NBC News projects, fending off a Democratic-backed challenger in the battleground state. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Warren, who was appointed to Georgia’s top court by GOP Gov. Nathan Deal, defeated former state Sen. Jen Jordan to win another six year-term. Another Republican-appointed justice, Charles Bethel, was locked in a tight race with attorney Miracle Rankin.Justice Ben Land, who was appointed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp last year, ran unopposed for re-election. 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 the state party and pro-abortion rights groups.More than $4 million was spent on ads across the two contests, according to the tracking firm AdImpact. In 2020, Bethel won by more than four points, while Warren cruised to a 57-point victory. The ideological balance of the Georgi...