Democrat for Georgia Secretary of State Dee Dawkins-Haigler has received endorsements from the three candidates who tallied behind she and Bee Nyguen in last week's primary. Dawkins-Haigler and Nyguen will face each other in the June 21 primary runoff election.
During a press conference Wednesday at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Floyd Griffin, a former state senator and former mayor of Milledgeville, said "any constitutional official should be about executive-level leadership, executive-level management, executive-level experience, and have a vision for Georgia and not be a one-issue candidate." Griffin went on to say that "secretary of state is about more than just elections" and it's not a position to enter for "on-the-job training", adding, "I'm endorsing Dee Dawkins-Haigler because I think she's ready."
Another former Secretary of State candidate, one-time Fulton County CEO Dr. John Eaves said of his former opponent, "I believe that Dee is abely qualified. She is a wonderful candidate, seasoned. She not only has the political experience, which I think is a pre-requisite for this position, but she has the professional experience. She's going to roll up her sleeves and work as she has done in the past." Eaves went on to say that "Georgia needs somebody who's fair, action-oriented, and is really going to execute on all aspects of the office."
The third Democratic candidate in the primary for the state's top elections official, Michael Owens, is also throwing his support behind Dawkins-Haigler. Owens is a former Cobb County Democratic Party chairman.
Dawkins-Haigler (18.70%), Owens (16.46%), Grifffin (10.85%), and Eaves (9.79%) pulled in a combined 55.8% of the votes during the primary. Nguyen garnered 44.19%, short of the 50%+ needed to avoid a runoff.
Georgia State Senator Sandra Scott also stood in support of Dawkins-Haigler during Wednesday's press briefing along with Georgia State Representative Billy Mitchell. President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, Mitchell is also Chairman of the Georgia House of Representatives Democratic Caucus. "If you check her record", Mitchell said of Dawkins-Haigler, "you will find that she has a valued career here in the state. She has done marvelous work. I am happy to stand with her."
Dawkins-Haigler's mother is the lone candidate in the upcoming democratic primary for secretary of state in South Carolina. Peggy Butler will face the Republican candidate in that state in November. In Georgia, the winner will face Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger.