Penny Brown Reynolds wins Georgia secretary of state runoff over Dana Barrett

Penny Brown Reynolds defeated Dana Barrett in the Democratic runoff for Georgia secretary of state, moving the race into a general election that will help determine who controls the office that oversees the state’s elections. The win puts a former Fulton County state court judge and Biden administration appointee on track for a contest shaped less by biography than by the power to manage voting, certify results and shape public trust in Georgia’s election system.

Reynolds advanced after leading the May 19 Democratic primary with 42% of the vote, while Barrett, a Fulton County commissioner, finished second with 35%. Because neither candidate won a majority, Georgia law sent the race to a runoff held 28 days later, on June 16, 2026. Cam Ashling and Adrian Consonery Jr. also competed in the Democratic field, which narrowed to Reynolds and Barrett for the second round.

The secretary of state’s office is one of the most consequential positions in Georgia government. It registers voters, tracks annual corporate filings, grants professional licenses and oversees the state’s securities market, making it central not only to elections but to the state’s broader regulatory machinery. In a state that has repeatedly been at the center of national election disputes, the office carries unusual political weight and public scrutiny.

That importance has only grown since Brad Raffensperger took office in January 2019 and was re-elected in 2022. Raffensperger leaves behind a post that drew national attention after the 2020 presidential election, when Donald Trump and his allies pressed Georgia officials over the state’s results. The next secretary of state will inherit that legacy, along with continuing fights over voting rules, certification and confidence in the machinery of elections.

Barrett campaigned on protecting voting rights and making it easier for eligible Georgians to vote, while Reynolds leaned on a résumé that includes service as a Fulton County judge and work in the Biden administration. The runoff was one of several statewide runoff races on Georgia’s June 16 ballot, underscoring how often the state’s election law pushes high-stakes contests past the primary’s first round. The general election will now decide whether Georgia’s elections chief changes hands after another cycle defined by the rules of voting as much as by the candidates themselves.