Race factors into Dem runoff for Georgia secretary of state

FILE - Former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, left, and Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen, right, participate in Georgia's secretary of state democratic primary election runoff debates, June 6, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

The Democratic primary battle for Georgia secretary of state – the top elections official in a critical swing state – may come down to questions about how party faithful view diversity and the representation of Black women.

State Rep. Bee Nguyen, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, is considered the front-runner for the June 21 runoff and has raised far more money than former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who is Black. Nguyen is endorsed by Stacey Abrams, the Georgia nominee for governor whose organizing efforts were widely credited for driving President Joe Biden’s narrow win here in 2020.

Dawkins-Haigler says Georgia Democrats support Nguyen because she’s not Black and they want to build a more diverse statewide ticket. She says there’s a “a race problem within the Democratic Party.”