Atlanta state Sen. Elena Parent, who has served in the Statehouse for nearly a decade, won reelection to her post in a primary election Tuesday.
Parent defeated Nadine Thomas, a former state senator who was the first African American woman to serve in the chamber when she was elected in 1993. The Associated Press called the race with a majority of votes in the district tallied Tuesday evening. At the time, Parent had received more than 74% of the vote to serve Senate District 44, which runs from the south end of DeKalb County into Clayton County.
The election became competitive after the Republicans in the General Assembly reshaped the area Parent, who is white, represented to be a majority-Black district. And the election became contentious as Thomas lodged accusations of racism against Parent without offering specific examples of offensive incidents or behavior.
Parent dismissed those claims by pointing to her record of support for Black communities and her endorsements from prominent Black politicians, including U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler.
Thomas, meanwhile, waived off criticism that she was supported by Vernon Jones, a Democrat-turned-Republican who has aligned himself with former President Donald Trump.
No Republican qualified to run in the general election against Parent.
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