ATLANTA, Ga.—Georgia’s only contested State Supreme Court seat will remain in the same hands for another six years.
Justice Andrew Pinson on May 21 defeated former Democratic Congressman John Barrow, who campaigned heavily on abortion. The Associated Press called the race at 9:28 p.m. Eastern.
Justice Pinson considered his win proof that the people of Georgia still want a “nonpartisan independent judiciary.”
“I’m grateful to the people of Georgia, who—I think it’s clear from this election— gave a vote of confidence to a continued judiciary that will approach cases with an open mind, continue to be fair and impartial,” Justice Pinson said in an exclusive comment to The Epoch Times at his watch party in Atlanta.
Justice Pinson’s campaign confirmed that Mr. Barrow called to convey his congratulations.
Three other State Supreme Court Justices were also up for re-election, but they were running unopposed.
Georgia’s justices are elected by popular vote for six-year terms, but they can also be appointed by the sitting governor if a seat is vacated mid-term. Justice Pinson was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. This will be the first time he is elected to a full term.
“It is affirmation that I have done the job in the way that I told Gov. Kemp I would when I interviewed for that job,” he said of his election. “That I would do it with integrity and that I would approach every case with an open mind. And that being fair and impartial on the bench is the most important thing that a judge can do.
“I think this validates that the people will tend to believe that, too.”
Candidates run for individual seats. This race gained national attention after Mr. Barrow insisted on making his campaign for the highest court in the state based on abortion and his pro-choice stance, attacking Justice Pinson for upholding Georgia’s six-week abortion ban.
“I’m running because we need justices on the Georgia Supreme Court who will protect the rights of women and their families and make the most personal family and health care decisions they’ll ever make,” Mr. Barrow said on his campaign website. Several pro-choice groups expressed support for him.
However, the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission accused Mr. Barrow of violating a rule barring candidates from committing to ruling one way or another on issues that are likely to come before the court. The commission said in a letter that he spoke of abortion in a way that “mischaracterized the role of a jurist as someone who should (or would, in your case) ‘protect’ selected rights” and spread the misconception that voting for him could lead to a change in the state’s abortion law. It also said he failed to emphasize a judge’s duty to uphold the law.
Mr. Barrow challenged this ruling and has continued to speak on abortion.
Meanwhile, Justice Pinson gained conservative supporters, including that of his appointer, Mr. Kemp, and Marci McCarthy, Chairman of the DeKalb County Republican Party.
“I find it reprehensible that a judge [candidate] is trying to be an activist,” Ms. McCarthy told The Epoch Times on the morning of May 21. “He’s in the wrong position. If you want to be an activist and change and amend the heartbeat law, then you need to go to the legislator.”
Ms. McCarthy went on to call the actions of Justice Pinson’s challenger “offensive” and that he was not supposed to be elected to “legislate from the bench.”
“I want a judge that’s gonna go in there and follow the Constitution,” she said.
Justice Pinson consistently campaigned on the need to keep his election and the Supreme Court seats nonpartisan, stating on his website, “personal preferences of individual judges should never affect how we interpret and apply our laws.”
“As judges, we take an oath to remain fair and impartial on every matter that comes before us,” he said in a statement. “I take that oath seriously because every Georgian deserves just and equal treatment under the law. Unfortunately, my opponent is running a hyper-partisan campaign based on promising to defy the judicial oath.”
