Background
Stokes was born into poverty and abandoned by her mother, who was an alcoholic.
Stokes was born into poverty and abandoned by her mother, who was an alcoholic.
Stokes is running for lieutenant governor in 2014. Her great-grandmother raised her in Atlanta"s Fourth Ward. She went into business in real estate.
Stokes ran for the Georgia State Senate seat representing the 43rd district in 1994, receiving the endorsement of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While she served in the Georgia Senate, Roy Barnes, the Governor of Georgia, appointed her to serve as one of his floor leaders. She also served as chairwoman of the Health and Human Services committee.
As a result, she chose to run for Georgia"s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, which was being vacated by Denise Majette, who was running for the United States Senate. She received an endorsement from Barnes, but lost the Democratic nomination to Cynthia McKinney, and was elected a DeKalb County commissioner that fall.
She chaired the budget committee.
In 2013, Stokes declared her candidacy in the 2014 Georgia gubernatorial election. After Jason Carter entered the race, Stokes decided to run for lieutenant governor instead. She lost in the general election to incumbent Casey Cagle.
She received a Masters in Public Administration, with a major in public management, from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
She works as a business management consultant.
A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former DeKalb County Commissioner, and formerly served in the Georgia State Senate.