Ceretta Smith

Smith was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1968 and graduated from Fayetteville Terry Sanford High School.[2][5] She earned a bachelor's degree from the Minnesota Graduate School of Theology in 2004, a graduate degree from the Calvary Bible Institute in 2008, and a degree from Deeper Bible College in 2024.[5] She served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 2000, nearly a decade by her own account, as a medic stationed in Germany.[2][5]

Smith worked 25 years as a federal employee, including as a physical evaluation boards liaison officer at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, and also worked as a substitute teacher.[2][5] She rose through the American Federation of Government Employees as Women's and Fair Practices Coordinator, Chief Steward, Legislative Political Coordinator, Local President, Georgia State Council President, and National Fair Practices Coordinator.[2][3] In 2020 she ran for Georgia State Senate District 23 as a Democrat and lost to Republican Max Burns in the general election.[3][5]

Smith was first elected to the Grovetown city council in 2021, and WRDW reports she represented the city for six years. She describes a citywide literacy initiative that distributed books to children.[2][3][4] She announced her campaign for Georgia's 12th District in 2025 and won the Democratic primary runoff on June 16, 2026, defeating Traci George.[3][4] She says she has lived in Grovetown for 20 years with her husband, a retired Army sergeant first class.[2] She described her campaign as focused on restoring trust in government and economic opportunity.[2][3][5][4] She received 47.9% of the vote to Rick Allen's 52.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]