{"id":2604075,"date":"2026-05-18T15:21:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:22:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:22:37","slug":"georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"GA Watchdog: Dem-Backed Candidates Broke Judicial Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604075&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Georgia judicial watchdog said two Democrat-backed candidates for the Georgia Supreme Court-Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin-violated the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-posts-tribute-honoring-deceased-sister-calls-out-fake-news-for-what-it-did-to-her\/\" title=\"Trump Posts Tribute Honoring Deceased Sister, Calls Out Fake News for What It Did to Her\">judicial conduct rules<\/a>. According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission found \u201creason to believe\u201d the candidates breached the code by publicly endorsing one another and promising to \u201crestore abortion rights\u201d if elected.  <\/p>\n<p>Jordan and Rankin later responded with statements arguing the findings were politically motivated. The issue came to public view after legal action: the candidates initially sought to keep certain JQC actions from occurring, and an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling temporarily allowed the JQC\u2019s statements to be published before the election. The article notes the 11th Circuit panel (2-1) said withholding the information would harm the public\u2019s ability to evaluate credible misconduct allegations. Incumbent justices Charlie Bethel and Sarah Hawkins Warren are seeking to retain their seats in the Tuesday election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0VwqcdPKbMo\">Heather Cox Richardson\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/18\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Georgia Watchdog Says Democrat-Backed Supreme Court Candidates Broke Judicial Rules&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/18\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Georgia Watchdog Says Democrat-Backed Supreme Court Candidates Broke Judicial Rules&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/18\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/18\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Georgia Watchdog Says Democrat-Backed Supreme Court Candidates Broke Judicial Rules&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/18\/georgia-watchdog-says-democrat-backed-supreme-court-candidates-broke-judicial-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Two Democrat-backed candidates running for Georgia Supreme Court seats violated existing judicial conduct rules, the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >judicial watchdog agency found<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>According to a Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/kkquK#selection-303.4-303.46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) determined that left-wing attorneys Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin broke the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct by publicly endorsing one another and pledging to \u201crestore abortion rights\u201d if elected. The JQC, \u201cwhich investigates and prosecutes allegations of judicial misconduct, forms a special committee during election years to address allegations of ethical misconduct in campaigns for judicial office,\u201d according to the AJC. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3674737317\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn statements that became publicly available Monday, the JQC committee said it \u2018reasonably believes\u2019 that Jordan and Rankin violated the judicial code by publicly endorsing one another and promising to restore abortion rights,\u201d the report reads. \u201cThe code applies to judges as well as those vying for a seat on the bench. The committee said a full JQC investigation could result.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Jordan and Rankin have since published statements seemingly arguing the JQC\u2019s findings are politically motivated. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"45XkcJ0lBwAGNFzwT3YiOvSQeUGUOpb1nk7RPHZnCjguegmYR5uxpMaxzMCL2KrqoBrIc9fVStH1Xy6fhDL\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So what was this explosive document that a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-smacks-down-d-c-attendance-caps-on-churches-in-time-for-easter\/\" title=\"Judge Smacks Down D.C. Attendance Caps On Churches In Time For Easter\">federal district judge<\/a> and a federal appellate judge wanted to keep hidden from the public before the election? It is a one page preliminary finding of violations. The candidate broke the rules. It happens. Very weird to try to hide it <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hNXGONq9Gm\">pic.twitter.com\/hNXGONq9Gm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric W. (@EWess92) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EWess92\/status\/2056416143393354155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/15\/republicans-cant-afford-to-sleep-on-georgias-supreme-court-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Jordan and Rankin are \u201cabortion activists\u201d and have telegraphed their intent to rule as left-wing partisans if elected in Georgia\u2019s supposedly nonpartisan Supreme Court elections on Tuesday. The Democrat-backed candidates are looking to unseat incumbent Justices Charlie Bethel and Sarah Hawkins Warren, both of whom were appointed by former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and won election in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s bombshell revelations only came to light following a favorable ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. As described by the AJC, \u201cThe case was filed under seal at the start of May by Jordan and Rankin, who sought to temporarily block the JQC committee members from taking certain actions during voting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 11th Circuit\u2019s ruling temporarily paused a Friday district court order that prevented the JQC\u2019s findings from being made public before Tuesday\u2019s election. The judge who issued that order was Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, the sister of former Democrat gubernatorial candidate <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stacey-abrams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stacey Abrams<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to the AJC, the 11th Circuit panel (2-1) \u201csaid if it didn\u2019t stay Gardner\u2019s order and allow the JQC statements to be published, \u2018the public will be harmed by not knowing about, and getting to evaluate for themselves, the credible allegations of misconduct.\u2019\u201d Judges Kevin Newsom and Robert Luck, both Trump appointees, comprised the majority, while Judge Embry Kidd, a Biden appointee, dissented.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"lLzDPACRgI9Xbo8ur6t7y4QWwjxTUc5nNmqEJ\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GA Judicial Qualifications Commission: <\/p>\n<p>During her campaign for judicial office, Ms. Jordan appeared at events related to reproductive freedom and spoke to attendees conveying she will \u201cRESTORE<br \/>ABORTION RIGHTS\u201d if elected. Footage and photographs from such events have been\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mike Fragoso (@mike_frags) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mike_frags\/status\/2056411199110042004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abortion\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abortion<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/georgia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Georgia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/georgia-judicial-qualifications-commission\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/georgia-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Georgia Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jen-jordan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jen Jordan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judiciary\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judiciary<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/miracle-rankin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Miracle Rankin<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/watchdog\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">watchdog<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Democrat-backed Georgia Supreme Court candidates were found to have violated judicial conduct rules, according to the state\u2019s watchdog agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2604077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Jen-Jordan-Miracle-Rankin.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33739,79882,36155,46920,6056],"class_list":["post-2604075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-law","tag-ga-politics","tag-government-accountability","tag-judicial-ethics","tag-watchdog"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Jen-Jordan-Miracle-Rankin.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604075"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604079,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604075\/revisions\/2604079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}