New: Race for North ATL Senate seat takes shape
Dems Jason Esteves, Luisa Wakeman compete for open North ATL Senate seat
Democratic State Sen. Jen Jordan’s run for Attorney General created an open race for her northern Atlanta Senate district. With the May primary approaching, we are beginning to get a look at who will be running to succeed Jordan in the State Senate.
On Monday, Democrat Luisa Wakeman announced that she will run in the Democratic primary for Senate District 6, which includes parts of Atlanta and unincorporated areas in East Cobb. Wakeman, a registered nurse and a Delta flight attendant, twice ran for a State House district in Cobb County.
“I am running for Senate District 6 to represent the voice of the people of this district,” Wakeman said in a press release. She heavily criticized what she called “extreme legislation” being passed in the GOP-controlled legislature, from election restrictions, to abortion bans and constitutional carry. “We deserve representation that will listen to the people of this district,” she concluded.
Wakeman enters a primary that also includes Jason Esteves, the former chair of the Atlanta school board and a top executive at the Georgia Democratic Party. A former teacher and the Vice President of Equifax, Esteves announced his run for Senate District 6 in December — just a month after his landslide re-election to the Atlanta school board.
Esteves is making education a top priority in his campaign: “My goal would be to go into the state Legislature to pass laws that build our communities so our teachers can focus on teaching,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December. “There’s so much where the state can fill in the gap that school districts are forced to fill and teachers bear the brunt of that effort.”
The partisan makeup of Senate District 6 was not significantly altered following last year’s redistricting session. The new configuration of the district, which can be seen above, would have given President Joe Biden nearly 60% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election.
Nothing is a certainty in politics, especially in a state like Georgia. But this district is one that should easily remain in Democratic hands after the November election, regardless of the nominee.
Democratic voters in Senate District 6 will choose between Esteves and Wakeman in the May 24 primary election.