New: Party-switching Atlanta lawmaker draws challenge from GA Young Dems' president
GOP's Mainor draws first Dem challenger
An Atlanta lawmaker who gained national headlines for switching parties has drawn her first challenger as the sun rises on another campaign season.
Bryce Berry, the president of the Young Democrats of Georgia since May 2022, says he will challenge state Rep. Mesha Mainor (R-Atlanta). An official announcement is expected on Thursday morning.
Mainor, who since 2020 has represented Midtown Atlanta under the Gold Dome, left the Democratic Party earlier this year after siding with the Republican majority on several key votes last session, including a new private school voucher system and state oversight on local district attorneys.
Berry, a Morehouse graduate and a former youth organizer for Joe Biden, says he plans to focus his campaign on the issues that he says are important to Georgia.
“At my core, I’m an organizer,” said Berry. Recounting his upbringing in poverty, Berry says that he has seen “how systems work against people” and that he is someone who is always pushing to make things better.
Rep. Mainor has said that she plans to run for re-election. But she will face nearly insurmountable odds in this left-leaning district, which has awarded Democrats as much as 90 percent of the vote in recent elections.
Democrats have made no secret about their eagerness to take back this seat. Berry is the first of what will likely be many Democrats to challenge Mainor, but he says that this election isn’t about any particular candidate.
“This campaign isn’t about Mesha, it’s about making sure that District 56 has better leadership and better representation at the state capitol,” he concluded.
Election day is set for November 5, 2024.