Democratic Fulton County commissioner announces bid to become Georgia secretary of state

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett speaks outside the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta on Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)

An elected leader in Georgia’s Fulton County, which drew national attention after the 2020 election when President Donald Trump claimed without proof that voter fraud there cost him victory in Georgia, announced that she is running to be the state’s top election official.

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett planned to hold a news conference Thursday morning to launch her campaign for secretary of state. She joins a Democratic primary field that already includes former Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, who had a brief reality TV career, as well as Adrian Consonery Jr. and Cam T. Ashling.

Barrett, who was elected to the Fulton Board of Commissioners in 2022, was a vocal part of a Democratic majority that last year refused to vote to approve two Republican nominees to the county election board, saying their past actions made them unsuitable. A judge ultimately found the Board of Commissioners in civil contempt and imposed a fine of $10,000 a day until the nominees are appointed, though the ruling is currently on hold pending appeal.