Denise Majette
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Denise Majette
Denise L. Majette (born May 18, 1955) is a Democratic U.S. politician from the state of Georgia.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, she attended Yale University and completed a law degree at Duke University in 1979. A resident of Georgia since 1983, Majette was appointed by Governor Zell Miller to the State Court of DeKalb County in 1993. She resigned from the judgeship in 2002 to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia's fourth Congressional district, defeating incumbent Rep. Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic primary. The 4th district, based in DeKalb County, is so heavily Democratic that Majette had almost no trouble winning the seat.
In 2004 Majette decided not to run for re-election, but rather to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Zell Miller. Having won the primary election and runoff, Majette faced Johnny Isakson in the general election on November 2, 2004, but was heavily defeated. She was at a severe disadvantage, given that George W. Bush was heavily favored to carry the state presidentially and because Georgia Democrats didn't have a credible candidate in the race until she entered it. She was both the first African-American and the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.
Cynthia McKinney ran for the 4th district seat again, and won.
| Preceded by: Cynthia McKinney | U.S. Representative of Georgia's 4th Congressional District 2003-2005 | Succeeded by: Cynthia McKinney |