Muscogee County Democrats Issue First-Ever Endorsements in Nonpartisan Elections

The Muscogee County Democratic Committee announced its first-ever endorsements in nonpartisan statewide and municipal races ahead of the May 19, 2026 election, marking what party leaders described as a historic step for the organization.

The committee, a county affiliate of the Democratic Party of Georgia, endorsed candidates for the Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Court of Appeals, mayor of Columbus and several Columbus City Council seats. The nonpartisan races will appear on the same ballot as the Democratic and Republican primary elections.

“This is a historic step for our committee,” Muscogee County Democratic Committee Chair Royal Anderson said in a statement. “For the first time, we’ve made endorsements in key nonpartisan races because we believe voters deserve clear, values-based guidance across the entire ballot.”

Anderson said the endorsements followed what he described as a “thoughtful, transparent process” focused on candidates’ qualifications, integrity and commitment to serving residents of Muscogee County.

According to the committee, endorsement applications were distributed to all candidates between March 13 and March 23. Committee members met in caucus April 14-15 to consider candidates who submitted applications and received support from at least five members.

Endorsements required approval by a two-thirds vote of the committee, with the final slate approved by the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia on April 25.

The Muscogee County Democratic Committee endorsed the following candidates for the May 19 election:

• Georgia Supreme Court Justice (Warren seat): Jen Auer Jordan
• Georgia Supreme Court Justice (Bethel seat): Miracle Rankin
• Georgia Court of Appeals (Brown seat): Will Wooten
• Mayor of Columbus: Isaiah Hugley
• Columbus City Council District 1: Simi Barnes
• Columbus City Council District 3: Sherrie Aaron
• Columbus City Council District 5: Robert Wadkins Jr.
• Columbus City Council At-Large District 9: John Van Doorn

The committee said no consensus endorsement was reached in the District 7 council race.

In a statement accompanying the endorsements, the committee said the slate reflects support for “a more progressive, pro-democracy, pro-diversity, pro-sustainability future” for Columbus-Muscogee County and indicated it may consider endorsements again should runoff elections occur June 16.

The Muscogee County Democratic Committee describes itself as a volunteer-powered organization focused on civic engagement, voter participation and advancing Democratic political activity in Muscogee County.