Vietnamese American Bee Nguyen wins Democratic nomination for Georgia secretary of state

June 22, 2022

Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen (D, GA-89) is the official Democratic nominee for secretary of state in Georgia after she defeated former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D, GA-91) in the primary runoff on Tuesday.

Nguyen, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, is set to face Republican incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the general election in November.

“For the first time in our state’s history, an Asian American woman is going to be a nominee on a statewide ticket,” the 40-year-old nonprofit executive told supporters after securing the nomination on Tuesday night. “The question that I’ve been asked as I’ve been on this campaign trail for 14 months has been, ‘Will Georgians vote for an Asian candidate?’ The answer is yes, Georgians will.”

Raffensperger, who testified on Tuesday at a hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, has earned praise from some Democrats for rejecting former President Donald Trump’s pleas to help overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

Nguyen also highlighted her work in the General Assembly to fight against false narratives and advocate for voting rights.

“We will remind Georgians that Brad Raffensperger ain’t our friend and we deserve better,” Nguyen told supporters. “We deserve a secretary of state who will uphold the law and protect our freedom to vote. We can have both, y’all.”

Nguyen became the first Vietnamese American elected to Georgia’s General Assembly when she was elected to the State House in 2017. A victory in November would make Nguyen the first Asian American elected to statewide office.

Featured Image via Bee for Georgia

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