Ellen Wright

Ellen T. Wright (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Georgia State Senate to represent District 29. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Wright completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ellen Wright was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned an associate degree from Clayton State University in 1999, a bachelor's degree from Milligan University in 1999, and an associate degree from South University in 2010. Her career experience includes working as a healthcare professional and a medical technology laboratory manager. Wright has been affiliated with Troup Country Court Appointed Special Advocates.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 29

Incumbent Randy Robertson defeated Ellen T. Wright in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 29 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Randy Robertson (R)	65.2	62,859
	Ellen T. Wright (D)	34.8	33,500

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 96,359
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Ellen T. Wright advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen T. Wright	100.0	6,001

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,001
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Incumbent Randy Robertson advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Robertson	100.0	14,793

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,793
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Wright in this election.

Pledges

Wright signed the following pledges.

U.S. Term Limits

2022

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 29

Incumbent Randy Robertson defeated Ellen T. Wright in the general election for Georgia State Senate District 29 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Randy Robertson (R)	66.2	48,339
	Ellen T. Wright (D)	33.8	24,628

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,967
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Ellen T. Wright defeated Frederick Manley in the Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen T. Wright	56.3	5,019
	Submit photo	Frederick Manley	43.7	3,898

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,917
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Incumbent Randy Robertson advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29 on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Robertson	100.0	23,611

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,611
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Ellen T. Wright completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wright's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Ellen T Wright is a native Georgian, married, retired Medical Technologist, living in Meriwether County since 1995. She was educated in the public school system and received the majority of her college education in the Georgia University system. Wright holds degrees in Biology and Chemistry and Paralegal Studies. She is a registered Medical Technologist with the American Medical Technologists, a Certified Paralegal (the first in the state) and has done extensive volunteer work with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program in Troup County. She has 25 years of professional work in healthcare of which 15 years were in management. She has done international volunteer work in healthcare for a non-profit organization. Her varied work background and interests mean that she has the scope to bring a new perspective to bringing jobs, healthcare, better education for our public schools, affordable housing, and improved infrastructure that employers require. Our people know what we need. Politicians do not. We must start listening to our people if we want to improve our lives.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Politicians have been listening to donors not the people. The people are the ones who know what the problems are and they are the ones who know what the solutions will be. They LIVE with the problems. The donors only see the bottom line on the balance sheets. If you take care of the "front line" people, your bottom line will take care of itself.
If we want the companies to come into Georgia to bring the jobs, we absolutely have to be able to show them that we are serious about healthcare (including improving maternal healthcare and pediatric availability), public schools that are top flight, affordable housing for front line workers, minimum wages that are livable, and infrastructure that WORKS. This is an investment in our future.
I believe in the power of women, young people, and minorities. I have seen what we can do when we mobilize. This is the election of our lives and quite possibly of our country's existence. This is in our hands and we are going to answer the call. People are trying to rob us of our Constitutional Rights and We. Will. Not. Let. Them. We hold the ultimate power-the power of the vote. We can and will vote them out of office. This is a democracy where the voices of the people matter. I believe in YOU. I believe that you will not only vote for me, but for every person who is a Democrat on the ballot. We will lift this country back up and bring us back on track and away from disaster.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Women's healthcare

Public school education
Employment (Jobs)
Affordable Housing

Infrastructure (roads, air, rail, waterways, water treatment, utilities, broadband, disaster relief and emergency management, etc.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

That's a long list. But the first two are my maternal grandfather, J.K. Derrick, and my father, E. A. Thompson. They were the cornerstones of my life and taught me so much.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

A Clear and Present Danger by Allen Drury-the book not the film

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, compassion, sense of humor, work experience, patience.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

accountability to all of the people in your district, not just the ones who voted for you and a dedication to doing the best job possible to the best of your ability.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Bay of Pigs invasion. No, not telling how old I was. It dates me enough as it is.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Why? Why does anyone love dwarves, elves, hobbits, wizards, etc.?

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Primarily clean energy and transportation particularly east-west. Georgia has always been primarily focused on north-south routes. Now that Savannah and Charleston have gained prominence as sea ports, we need to be able to get goods out west from there. That will mean building a new network of some kind to do it. Right now, everything has to go either north or south before it can move west. That's inefficient. It needs to start west.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

not at the present time

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

A legislature is similar to the Congress in that regard. Congress provides oversight of both the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch. It therefore has oversight of emergency powers at the federal level. Likewise, a legislature should have oversight over the state's executive should emergency powers ever be warranted. It is part of the balance of power.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

I'm not sure yet (5/4/24), I have several ideas in mind.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Georgia Conservation Voters

Everytown/Moms for Action
Georgia Equality

Emily's List

What committees interest you?

Health and Human Services

Children and Families
Education and Youth
Science and Technology

Natural Resources and Environment

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

There's way too little of either.

Would a state ballot initiative process be good or bad for your state?

I have long advocated for a state ballot initiative as it gives the voters a mechanism to bring measures to the attention of the legislature that the party in the majority may decide to just "shut it down" so that it never comes up. There have been several things lately that should have been brought up that the majority leaders just would not allow to be brought into discussion. That's not right. If the voters want it discussed and voted on, then it needs to be brought up and discussed. That's what they are there for. They are not our grandparents. They have no right to decide those things for us like we are children. They were elected to serve the people.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Ellen T. Wright completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wright's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a native of GA, born in Atlanta, raised in Red Oak, GA, and I went to public schools K-12. I have secondary education in Biology/Chemistry (AS/BS degrees) and Medical Technology. I also hold a degree in Paralegal Studies (AS). I spent 25 years in the field of healthcare the last 14 years in management. I am currently volunteering as a CASA in Troup County (11 years). This is a career switch for me and is important to me because I believe the people of this district are not being adequately heard or represented. To date, no public town halls have been held. They have been talked 'at', not listened 'to'. Laws have been passed to restrict their voting access. I want to reverse that situation if I can. Citizens need to be heard.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Jobs need to come to this area, but they need to be sustainable jobs, not seasonal or periodic. We do not need any more layoffs or plant closings. We need to support the small entrepreneurs.
Affordable housing is hard to find. Ordinary people cannot find a place to even rent with the prices like they are. We need to find a solution so that people can house their families without working 2/3 jobs.
Healthcare is a huge issue out in the rural areas. Maternal care has to be addressed. Pediatric care goes right along with it. People cannot work and take time off to drive 2-3 hours to the doctor then wait 2-3 hours. They not only lose wages, they could lose their jobs. This has got to change.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Jobs, affordable housing, rural healthcare, election security and access, broadband, infrastructure, and public schools are all interests of mine and I am passionately interested in them all. It is hard to say which ones are more important because they're ALL important and interrelated. Our district needs all of this and more. It will be difficult to compete with the rest of Georgia, but somehow it will have to be done. We need to address this issues and do it now.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Several people for different reasons: Greta Thunberg for her dedication and courage, Malala for her courage and quiet wisdom, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson for her leadership and ability to forge alliances, Angela Merkel for her steely strength, Hillary Clinton for her steadfastness in spite of all the garbage thrown at her, Elizabeth Warren-her persistence, of course!, AOC for her intelligence and outspoken passion, and so many more. So many women are stepping up and standing up. So many good people are saying "enough" and simply won't stand down. If you have ethics and moral standards, this is something that you have to do. I am one of those people. I have had enough.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

#1 The Voters elected you. Remember that.

2 The Party is not the Voters. See #1.
3 You owe the Voters something.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Tenacity, Compassion, Dedication, Persistence, Intelligence, Integrity, Honesty

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. I don't remember much about it, but it scared me and my sister so badly that the fireworks for the Fourth had us screaming. I think we were 7 &5.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked for Rich's department store at Greenbriar selling sewing machines for one summer. I didn't sell a single one.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Eragon Dragonrider

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Communication is a two-way street. It needn't always be completely amicable. In fact, I would be suspicious if it was.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

We're going to be facing a lot of debate about election security here in Georgia. That's a given. We will also be trying to compete for bringing in more industry, expanding our healthcare system and hardening it against future challenges, bringing our educational system back up to par without using tax money for vouchers, finishing installing broadband statewide, and overhauling our infrastructure. All of this is going to be massively expensive and people are going to be impatient for their corner of the patch to get theirs NOW.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Maybe, maybe not. It certainly helps to have a basic understanding of civics.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

To an extent, yes. There's always going to be a cooperative element to the process. But you do not want to be so beholden to someone that they can dictate your votes. That is defeating the purpose of you being there.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Third-party NON-PARTISAN. There is no way for partisan redistricting to be good for the voters.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Probably Healthcare. I'm not sure.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I don't think so.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

not yet.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

I'm inclined to say to granting. Oversight? That might work.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

It can be. I do not believe that it is, however, REQUIRED. There are some things that are non-negotiable.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Ellen T. Wright campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Georgia State Senate District 29	Lost general	$0	$0
2022	Georgia State Senate District 29	Lost general	$0	$0
Grand total			$0	$0
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

External links

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Candidate

Georgia State Senate District 29

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 27, 2022
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 4, 2024

[show]

Current members of the Georgia State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Jason Anavitarte

Minority Leader:Harold Jones

Senators

District 1

Ben Watson (R)

District 2

Derek Mallow (D)

District 3

Mike Hodges (R)

District 4

Billy Hickman (R)

District 5

Sheikh Rahman (D)

District 6

Matt Brass (R)

District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes (D)

District 8

Russ Goodman (R)

District 9

Nikki Merritt (D)

District 10

Emanuel Jones (D)

District 11

Sam Watson (R)

District 12

Freddie Sims (D)

District 13

Carden Summers (R)

District 14

Josh McLaurin (D)

District 15

Ed Harbison (D)

District 16

Marty Harbin (R)

District 17

Gail Davenport (D)

District 18

John Kennedy (R)

District 19

Blake Tillery (R)

District 20

Larry Walker (R)

District 21

Vacant

District 22

Harold Jones (D)

District 23

Max Burns (R)

District 24

Lee Anderson (R)

District 25

Ricky Williams (R)

District 26

David Lucas (D)

District 27

Greg Dolezal (R)

District 28

Donzella James (D)

District 29

Randy Robertson (R)

District 30

Tim Bearden (R)

District 31

Jason Anavitarte (R)

District 32

Kay Kirkpatrick (R)

District 33

Michael Rhett (D)

District 34

Kenya Wicks (D)

District 35

Vacant

District 36

Nan Orrock (D)

District 37

Ed Setzler (R)

District 38

Rashaun Kemp (D)

District 39

Sonya Halpern (D)

District 40

Sally Harrell (D)

District 41

Kim Jackson (D)

District 42

Brian Strickland (R)

District 43

Tonya Anderson (D)

District 44

Elena Parent (D)

District 45

Clint Dixon (R)

District 46

Bill Cowsert (R)

District 47

Frank Ginn (R)

District 48

Shawn Still (R)

District 49

Drew Echols (R)

District 50

Bo Hatchett (R)

District 51

Steve Gooch (R)

District 52

Chuck Hufstetler (R)

District 53

Colton Moore (R)

District 54

Chuck Payne (R)

District 55

Randal Mangham (D)

District 56

John Albers (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (22)

Vacancies (2)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 27, 2022

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 4, 2024

[1]

[2]

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Ellen Wright

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 29

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Endorsements

Pledges

2022

General election

General election for Georgia State Senate District 29

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia State Senate District 29

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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