Aaron Baker could become the first openly transgender person elected to the Georgia General Assembly if she defeats state Rep. Esther Panitch (D–Sandy Springs) in the May 19 Democratic primary next year.
Baker, a trans-rights activist and software engineer for The Coca-Cola Co., aims to harness the momentum of recent progressive wins locally and nationally by campaigning on affordable housing, cost-of-living relief, and increasing public school funding.
“We’re running on affordable housing for all, because a Georgia where every family can afford a home is possible. We’re running on a living wage for all, because a Georgia where workers don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck is possible,” Baker told a crowd of about 100 people at her Dec. 7 campaign launch at Pontoon Brewing Co. in Sandy Springs.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member is an active advocate for trans and disability rights, frequently appearing at protests and state legislative hearings. She has also used her technical background to develop civic tools, such as Georgia Fast Track, which allows residents to track state legislation, and Georgia Fast Money, which analyzes campaign finance contributions to Democratic and Republican PACs and candidates for office statewide.
Baker said she decided to run for the House District 51 seat, encompassing parts of Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Johns Creek, when the state legislature passed SB 140, banning gender-affirming care for minors. Baker, who is transgender, has said that kind of care saved her life.
“In that moment, I knew I needed to find new ways of fighting back, so here I am,” said Baker, who is married to Rev. Andi Woodworth, a co-founder of Neighborhood Church in Candler Park. Together, they have a blended family of five children..
“After years of the Georgia Legislature ignoring the real affordability crisis people are facing, they have instead chosen to pass anti-immigrant, anti-DEI, and anti-trans legislation to scapegoat people like me. But we are fighting back,” Baker said.
That message resonated with Raven Moran, a 27-year-old Roswell resident who attended Baker’s launch. Moran said she’s been living with her mother since losing her job as a plumber two months ago. “Housing affordability is a joke,” she said. “If you work hard, you just die early. There’s no reward for working hard in this country.”
Moran said younger people increasingly feel locked out of the housing market, as institutional investors buy up single-family homes. “There’s tons of property available,” she said. “It’s just owned by a handful of corporations, and that means there’s no real housing market for people like us.”
A coalition of activists, DSA members, and local progressive groups are backing Baker to take on Panitch. Baker’s campaign manager, Alex Vanden Heuvel, said she’s raised more than $21,000 so far, compared with $42,000 for Panitch, according to her June 2025 campaign finance disclosure.
“We are not only having a moment here in Roswell or North Fulton, but across the country,” said one Baker supporter, Lyndsey Coates, at Pontoon Brewing. She’s a co-founder of Roswell Women Rising and executive director of North Fulton Forward — new good-governance groups that organized to elect progressives to three Roswell City Council seats, along with Roswell Mayor-elect Mary Robichaux, this year.
Panitch’s legislative record
Panitch, a criminal defense and civil trial attorney at Panitch Ivory, has represented House District 51 since 2023. She is also the only Jewish member of the Georgia Legislature. Baker is Jewish as well.
In a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle, Panitch said she is “proud to be the grassroots candidate in the race.” She noted that Baker’s own GA Fast Money website gives her a “people power score” of 4.5 out of five stars, based on her high share of individual donations. “I own a small business and have never been employed by, or beholden to, big corporations,” she said.
Panitch has drawn criticism from the left for her support for Israel. She sided with Republican legislators on several contentious issues, such as co-sponsoring HB 30, which made the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism state law. Critics argue the law chills legitimate criticism of the Israeli government. Panitch also backed HB 602, which would have stripped state scholarships and financial aid from student protesters convicted of disruptive conduct. The bill faced stiff opposition, and stalled in committee in the last legislative session.
“As the only Jewish member of the Georgia House, I take that representation seriously, especially at a time when antisemitism is at its highest level in the United States,” Panitch said in the statement. “Jewish voices are not interchangeable—it means actually standing with the community.
Panitch defended her legislative record, pointing in her statement to her work protecting Georgians with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty and safeguarding access to IVF treatment. She noted that she’s been endorsed by both labor unions and Georgia Equality, a statewide LGBTQ rights group. She currently serves in the House on the Public Safety and Homeland Security, Judiciary Juvenile, and Judiciary Non-Civil Committees.
Panitch has publicly criticized US Sen. Jon Ossoff, a fellow Jewish Democrat, over his at times critical stance on Israel – although she recently praised him for his efforts to secure the release of an Oct. 7 Israeli hostage, Evyatar David. Locally, she endorsed Sandy Springs’ Republican Mayor Rusty Paul for his successful reelection bid and has signaled she may endorse GOP candidates again.
“I’ve endorsed dozens, if not hundreds, of Democrats since taking office,” Panitch said in the statement, “but I will always place country over party. When one candidate stands with my community and the other panders to the far left, I don’t care what party they affiliate with.”
I really wish I was in this district so I could support Baker. We need representatives that understand working class issues and how progressive policies are vital to solving the massive problems we’re facing.