Georgia State Rep. Tanya Miller Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Georgia state Rep. and candidate for Attorney General Tanya Miller is a nominee for the 2026 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award. Named in honor of the courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office.

“When Georgia Republicans fought to strip away Georgians’ rights, state Rep. Tanya Miller fought back — holding them accountable and defending Georgians’ freedoms. She understands firsthand the struggles everyday Georgians face, and she has spent her career making Georgia communities safer. EMILYs List is proud to nominate Tanya Miller for this year’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award,” said EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler.

Rep. Tanya Miller is a member of the Georgia state House of Representatives, representing District 62. She chairs the House Democratic Caucus and is running as a Democratic candidate for Georgia attorney general.

Raised by her proud union member mother, she learned hard work and perseverance early in life, which started with a paper route at nine. She then worked her way through school, balancing jobs and motherhood on her path to becoming a lawyer. 

At Case Western Reserve School of Law, she excelled as notes editor of the Law Review, president of the Black Law Students Association, and executive director of the National BLSA. In 2022, in recognition of her career of service, she received her law school’s highest honor — induction into the Hall of Fame for “extraordinary achievement and dedication to the highest ideals of the legal profession.” As a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Rep. Miller built a national reputation for her fierce commitment to justice, fairness, and integrity with more than two decades of courtroom experience. 

She has fought for victims, defended constitutional rights and represented working families in wrongful death, personal injury, criminal defense, and civil rights cases, including police misconduct under Section 1983. Her career in public service started as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York, later continued as a Fulton County prosecutor handling homicides and crimes against women and children, before becoming a Georgia legislator. Today, she also continues to champion workers’ rights as general counsel to the Georgia Federation of Public Service Employees. 

The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input. Online voting will open on March 23, and can be found here. State Rep.Tanya Miller is nominated alongside: Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, Indiana state Rep. Carey Hamilton, Minnesota state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, and New Mexico state Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta.

Previous Rising Star Award recipients include: former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014 and former Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen in 2022.   

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