Jewish Democrat Eyeing State Senate Seat

Kevin Abel, a long-time member of Temple Sinai, is the Democratic nominee seeking election to an open seat in Georgia Senate District 14.

Abel, an Internet technology consultant, advanced to the general election with a narrow win in a June 16 primary runoff against attorney Nathalie Kanani, who has publicly endorsed him.

His Republican opponent is Michael Dvorscak, a 40-year veteran of the corporate real estate industry, who advanced after comfortably winning the May 19 Republican primary.

State Senate District 14 stretches north from the Atlanta city limits in a slice of Fulton County that takes in portions of Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, and Johns Creek.

Georgia state senators represent an average of 191,523 residents based on 2020 Census data. Legislators receive a base salary of $25,312 and a $247 per day per diem during the 40-day legislative session.

Republicans hold a 33 to 23 advantage in the Georgia Senate.

District 14’s current state senator, Josh McLaurin, is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. McLaurin won re-election in 2024 by 10 percentage points. Much of District 14 lies in the 7th congressional district, which Republican President Donald Trump carried with 60 percent of the vote in 2024.

A native of South Africa, Abel came to the United States as a teenager, during an exodus of South African Jews, many of whom left during racial violence and tensions in the mid-1970s to early 1990s.

“A central teaching of Judaism that I embrace and have taught my children is Tikkun Olam, repair the world. We all have a role to play in making this world, this country, this state a better place,” Abel told the AJT before the Democratic primary in May. “My ‘lane’ is civic service, specifically public office. In this regard, while I didn’t win the congressional race in 2018, I did serve on the GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation) board for years. Now I have the opportunity to again run to serve.”

Abel told the AJT in May that, if elected, “I will advocate for the state to increase funding for security for Jewish institutions to mitigate the massive increase in security costs due to the rise of antisemitism and the threat of violence.”

His campaign website lists healthcare as a legislative priority: “Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. Kevin has personally faced insurance gaps while fighting cancer, shaping his commitment to accessible, quality care for all Georgians, including women’s reproductive healthcare. Kevin’s two daughters work in healthcare, witnessing firsthand the inequities and failings of our system. Kevin will push to expand Medicaid in Georgia, reduce healthcare costs, and fight to end the abortion ban.”

Abel serves on the advisory board of New American Pathways, an organization that helps resettle newly admitted refugees. In a Sept. 22 Facebook post about his outreach to the Latino community, Abel said: “We must work together to push back on inhumane treatment of immigrants, shipping them to countries they’ve never been to indiscriminately, and breaking up loving families and communities. I will do all I can to ensure that everyone in our district is treated with human decency and the respect with which I would want to be treated.”

President Joe Biden appointed Abel in May 2023 to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council Board of Trustees, which supports the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and he continues to serve on that body.

Citing that role, Abel told the AJT: “I am appalled by the recent full-page ad in the Atlanta Jewish Times claiming that the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened if [Donald] Trump had been president. The message of this ad is deeply troubling and offensive. Politics has no place in any discussion about the Holocaust. In this moment, when Holocaust denial is at an all-time high, and education about the Holocaust is crucial so that future generations may understand and learn from past horrors, giving voice to misconstrued, politically motivated narratives only gives oxygen to the conspiracy theorists who sew further hatred and lies.” [Note: The AJT has issued an apology regarding the advertisement.]

Dvorscak is an Atlanta native with an undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech and a master’s in business administration from Georgia State University. He is principal, owner, and broker of AD Commercial Real Estate (formerly The William B. Hare Company).

“Having talked with many voters in the run up to the election, affordability is the No. 1 issue among them. They are looking for a state senator who will lower their costs for income and property taxes, healthcare or education. I will work to lower costs in each of these areas,” Dvorscak told the AJT.

Dvorscak also addressed himself to the Jewish community in particular, saying, “However, for the many Jewish voters I have met, the No. 1 concern is public safety. We live in a time of rising antisemitism and anti-Israel fervor. This must be met head on by our elected officials at all levels. One of our most precious freedoms is freedom of religion.

“Americans have the right to practice their own religion or no religion without interference from anyone. And while anyone can express their opposition to a particular belief, that is where we must draw the line. I will fight against any attempt to use the levers of government against the Jewish people,” he said. “I strongly oppose the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. I believe in the right of Israel to live in peace. I promise to give you my best every day to make life more affordable. And I promise to fight antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”

Dvorscak’s legislative interest in mental health services is rooted in personal experience, having been diagnosed in 2017 with severe depression. Referencing U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, a Republican from New Jersey, who was absent for four months with a similar diagnosis, Dvorscak posted July 1 on Facebook: “Like Tom, through the help of medical professionals, friends and family, our faith community and personal perseverance, I was able to make a full recovery. Not all Georgians are able to have the medical and personal support network I had in my road to recovery.”

“I have personally knocked on over 2,500 doors in this campaign so far and received overwhelming support on my platform of expanding access to mental health services and ensuring healthcare resources are expanded to cover all Georgians, in combatting and treating those who have been diagnosed with any forms of mental illness,” Dvorscak wrote.

Dvorscak also has been involved in literacy programs in Roswell and been an advocate for the Safe Harbor Amendment to the Georgia constitution, approved in 2016, committing state resources to combat and aid victims of child sex trafficking.