Charlie Bailey (born February 19, 1983) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Since 2025, Bailey has served as Chair of the

Democratic Party of Georgia The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), formally known as the Union Democratic Republican Party, commonly shortened to the Union Party (UP), until 1840, is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. Since its founding, it ...

. He was previously the Democratic nominee for both the 2018 Georgia Attorney General election and the

2022 Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election The 2022 Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It coincided with various other 2022 Georgia ...

Biography

Bailey was born on his family's cattle farm in

Harris County, Georgia Harris County is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. The county seat ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

where he received undergraduate degrees in political science and religion. After graduation, Bailey worked as political director on Lt. Governor Mark Taylor's race against

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

in the

2006 Georgia gubernatorial election 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

. He then served as campaign director for James Marlow during the 2007 special election for the 10th congressional district. He then attended and graduated from the

University of Georgia Law School The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law schools in continu ...

. In 2010, following law school, Bailey worked as an associate at the Barnes Law Group, founded by former Georgia Governor

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th governo ...

. In 2014, he became a senior assistant district attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office. In 2019, Bailey joined the law firm Cook & Connelly and opened the firm's Atlanta office.

Campaigns

2018 Attorney General election

In 2018, Bailey ran as the Democratic nominee for

Attorney General of Georgia The attorney general of Georgia is a statewide elected attorney and legal advisor for the executive branch of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. They are a constitutional officer responsible for providing opinions on legal questions ...

against incumbent Republican Chris Carr who was appointed to the position in 2016. In the race Bailey was drastically outspent by Carr. The final totals saw Carr gain 51.3 percent of the vote and Bailey 48.7 percent. This percentage was the highest vote share of any state-wide Georgia Democrat in 2018 behind gubernatorial candidate

Stacey Abrams Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...

. He received 48.7% of the vote against Carr, which was the highest percentage for any down-ballot Democratic candidate in that cycle.

2022 Lieutenant Governor election

In January 2021, Bailey began a run for Attorney General of Georgia as a rematch against Chris Carr. In January 2022, Bailey announced his plans to switch from the Attorney General race to the race for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

with the encouragement of leaders in the Georgia Democratic Party. In his first three weeks Bailey's campaign for Lieutenant Governor raised $527,000. He has received endorsements from

Lucy McBath Lucia Kay McBath (née Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives from a district in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, since 2019. She represented from 2019 to 2023 and since ...

Shirley Franklin Shirley Clarke Franklin (born May 10, 1945) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 56th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves as a member on the board of directors for both Delt ...

, and

Dubose Porter DuBose Porter (born October 2, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, businessman, and former newspaper publisher who served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia and served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from ...

. Bailey placed second in the May 2022 Democratic primary, and was endorsed by

. The only candidate to show up for a pre-runoff debate in Atlanta, Bailey won the runoff election in June 2022, approaching a 2–1 vote advantage, and became the party's nominee for the general election in November. Bailey received 46.43% of the vote against Republican nominee and winner Burt Jones, the second-highest share for any down-ballot Democratic candidate in that cycle (after Jen Jordan, the nominee for Attorney General, who received 46.60% against Carr).

2025 DPG Chair election

Following the resignation of

Nikema Williams Nikema Natassha Williams ( ; born July 30, 1978) is an American politician serving as the representative for . The district includes almost three-quarters of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th district from 2017 to ...

as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, Bailey announced his run for the position. He led in the first round of voting against five other candidates by the party's State Committee, and won the second round against DNC member Wendy Davis. Bailey became the first full-time, salaried Chair of the DPG since Jane Kidd.

Personal life

Bailey is engaged to Pallavi Purkayastha. He currently resides in Atlanta.

References

{{Democratic State Chairs State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state) 1983 births Lawyers from Atlanta Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Living people