Former judge with brief TV stint enters Georgia race for secretary of state

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ATLANTA (AP) — A former state judge who briefly handled family court disputes on TV and later served in the federal government has announced she's running to be secretary of state in Georgia, where elections have been marred by controversy and conspiracy theories.

“I will protect our democracy,” former state judge Penny Brown Reynolds said in a social media video released Thursday. “I will defend every eligible Georgian’s right to vote. Whether you live in Atlanta or Albany, whether you’re 19 or 90, whether you vote blue, red or not at all.”

The secretary of state oversees state elections and corporate filings, professional licenses and other business activities.

Current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, announced last week he is running for governor in the 2026 election. One of Raffensperger's former top officials, Republican Gabriel Sterling, is running to replace him. Both made names for themselves defending Georgia's presidential election results in 2020 after Republican Donald Trump called Raffensperger and asked him to “find” votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's win in the state.

Reynolds was a lawyer for former Democratic Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who has endorsed her. In 2022 she was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights, and she has served in other state and federal roles. She is also an ordained minister, and calls herself a “daughter of the South” who is “deeply committed to the soul of this state.” Her reality TV show, Family Court with Judge Penny, ran for one season and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2009.

Reynolds' campaign website says if elected, she will work to make it easier to vote, including making early voting sites and drop boxes accessible. She would also seek to reduce barriers to forming small businesses, support farmers, protect seniors from fraud and improve cybersecurity.

Her website also says she would protect election workers, who in recent years have been threatened and harassed nationwide. In Georgia, two election workers filed multiple lawsuits related to threats they faced spurred by false claims that they were involved in fraud in the 2020 election.

Republicans Kelvin King and state Rep. Tim Fleming are also running to be the state's top election officer.

King previously ran for U.S. Senate and will appeal to Trump supporters who are skeptical that elections are secure. His wife, Janelle King, is a member of the State Elections Board that saw some key actions overturned by the state Supreme Court. Fleming heads a committee studying Georgia's election system and is a vocal proponent of hand-marked paper ballots, a key demand from activists skeptical of the state's voting machines.

A little-known Democrat, Adrian Consonery Jr., is also running. It has been nearly two decades since a Democrat served as Georgia's secretary of state.

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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.