Panitch Remains Only Jewish Legislator in Georgia
Election round-up: Rep. Esther Panitch D-51 from is the last Jewish candidate standing. Not that her assets are because she is Jewish, but we deserve a community that supports everyone.
Dave Schechter is a veteran journalist whose career includes writing and producing reports from Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Esther Panitch had expressed hope that she would have Jewish colleagues when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, but the election left the Fulton County Democrat as the lone Jewish voice in the state legislature.
Panitch won election to a second term in the state House from District 51, receiving 58 percent of the vote to defeat Republican challenger Derek Keith Gettman. “Thank you to the good people of my district for re-electing me to the Georgia State House!! I look forward to serving y’all another term!,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter), late on election night Nov. 5.
Five other Jewish candidates — four Democrats and a Republican — lost their bids for House seats.
Vote totals are unofficial until certified by the state. Nov. 12 was the deadline for counties to report their counts to the state. Nov. 22 is the deadline for certification by the secretary of state.
Georgians cast nearly 5.29 million votes in this year’s election, a turnout of 72.7 percent by active registered voters — a record and a significant increase from the 2020 turnout of 66.2 percent. More than 4 million votes were cast before Election Day and another 1.2 million-plus on Election Day.
Republican former President Donald Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia by more than 117,000 votes, restoring the state’s “red” status. Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden in 2020, plus U.S. Senate victories by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, had led to suggestions that Georgia had become “purple.”
Republicans maintained their trifecta under the Gold Dome, holding the governor’s office as well as majorities in the state House and Senate. Unofficial results showed Republicans winning 33 of 56 Senate seats — the same number they held in the 2024 session. On the House side, Republicans won 99 of 180 seats and the Democrats 78 — with three races too close to call. In those, Democrats were leading in two and Republicans in one. If those results hold, Democrats would have gained two seats more than they held last session.
An estimated 1.3 percent of the state’s population is Jewish. A single Jewish legislator accounts for 0.04 percent of the General Assembly. Panitch will remain that single legislator. “Once again, I will need support from the Jewish community to ensure our voice is heard,” she told the AJT on Nov. 6.
In the other state House races with losing Jewish candidates:
District 24: Democrat Randye Dugan won 32 percent of the vote in her effort to unseat Republican incumbent Carter Barrett.
District 45: Democrat Eric Castater received 42 percent of the vote in his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Sharon Cooper.
District 47: Democrat Debra Shigley received 38 percent of the vote in her race against Republican incumbent Rep. Jan Jones, the second-ranking Republican in the House.
District 53: Democrat Susie Greenberg received 48 percent of the vote, losing by fewer than 1,400 votes out of nearly 35,000 cast, in her bid to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Deborah Silcox. In a Facebook post, Greenberg said she was “disappointed” that “Despite our best efforts, we fell short of achieving our campaign for Georgia House District 53.”
District 86: Republican challenger Barry Zisholtz received 20 percent of the vote in his loss to Democratic incumbent Rep. Imani Barnes. “We as Jews need to get more involved, and be sure we know what is going on under the Golden Dome, and who is representing us. I admit, over the years I did not pay attention to local politics, but that all changed at the end of February 2024,” Zisholtz wrote on Facebook. “We met all of our goals and increased Republican votes in DeKalb County 2.6%. And although we lost our battle, which we were told we had no chance, our team helped us win the war.”
Republican incumbent Rep. Todd Jones, who does not identify as Jewish though his mother is Jewish, won re-election in District 25, received 61 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Elaine Padgett.
As expected, there were no upsets in races for the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans will maintain their 9 to 5 advantage over Democrats in Georgia’s delegation. As of Nov. 8, control of the U.S. House remained unsettled, as about two dozen races nationwide had yet to be called and neither party could claim a majority of at least 218 seats in the 435-seat House.
Trump fell short of a pre-election boast that he might win as much as 40 percent of the Jewish vote nationally. The National Election Pool, which produces exit polls for several news organizations, reported that 79 percent of the Jewish vote went to Harris and 21 percent to Trump, while another analysis, based on Associated Press data, gave Harris 66 percent of the Jewish vote and Trump 34 percent. Exit polls also showed overwhelming support for Trump in the Orthodox community.
By comparison, Trump received an estimated 24 percent of the Jewish vote in 2016 and 30 percent in 2020. The high-water marks for Republicans over the past century are President Dwight Eisenhower with 40 percent in 1956 and Ronald Reagan with 39 percent in 1980.
As the 2024 election cycle ends, the 2026 campaign begins, highlighted in Georgia by races for governor and the U.S. Senate.
In the former, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will have served two terms and cannot seek re-election. Republicans face the prospect of a contested primary, with Lt. Gov. Burton Jones among those eager to succeed Kemp.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, is up for re-election in 2026 and Republicans may line up for the opportunity to return that seat to Republican hands.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock faces re-election in 2028.
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