Bee Nguyen
Bee Nguyen | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 89th district | |
| In office December 15, 2017 – January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Stacey Abrams |
| Succeeded by | Saira Draper (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 18, 1981 Ames, Iowa, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Georgia State University (BA, MA, MPA) |
Bee Nguyen (born July 18, 1981) is an American nonprofit executive and politician who served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 89th District from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected during a special election in December 2017 to fill the seat vacated following Stacey Abrams's resignation in August 2017 to focus on her run for governor. Nguyen is the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Georgia House of Representatives.
Having left elected office, Nguyen now works on the staff of Senator Raphael Warnock as State Director.[1]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Nguyen's parents fled Vietnam by boat, settling in Iowa in 1979.[2][3] Born in Ames, Iowa, Nguyen grew up in Augusta, Georgia,[4] and attended Georgia State University for her bachelor's and master's in English literature and an MPA in finance and management.[5][6] She moved to Atlanta in 1999.[4]
Career
[edit | edit source]Nguyen was previously the executive director of a nonprofit organization[7] she founded, Athena Warehouse, a program to educate and empower girls in under-resourced communities. She is currently National Policy Advisor for New American Leaders.[8] In November 2018, BizJournals included her on a list of 40 under 40s.[9] Nguyen described her charitable work as helping to "focus her desire to reduce economic disparity".[4]
Georgia Legislature
[edit | edit source]Elections
[edit | edit source]After Abrams resigned from the state legislature, four candidates announced efforts to succeed her.[4]
In addition to being the first Vietnamese-American to win election to the Georgia House,[10] Nguyen became the first Asian-American Democratic woman to hold a state office in Georgia.[4]
In June 2020, Nguyen won the Democratic nomination for reelection to her seat by a wide margin.[11]
Tenure
[edit | edit source]Nguyen opposed the Election Integrity Act of 2021.[12]
2022 Georgia Secretary of State election
[edit | edit source]On May 4, 2021, Nguyen declared her candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State in the 2022 election.[13] In February 2022, she announced that she had raised over $1 million in her campaign.[14] Nguyen received 44% of the vote, and advanced to a runoff election against Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who received 19% of the vote.[15] Nguyen defeated Dawkins-Haigler in the runoff.[16] She lost to the incumbent, Brad Raffensperger, in the November 8 general election.[17]
References
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- 1981 births
- 21st-century American women politicians
- 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly
- American women of Vietnamese descent in politics
- Asian-American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics
- Asian-American state legislators in Georgia
- Candidates in the 2022 United States elections
- Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
- Georgia State University alumni
- Living people
- Politicians from Ames, Iowa
- Politicians from Atlanta
- Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state)