A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former DeKalb County Commissioner, and formerly served in the Georgia State Senate.
[1] Stokes ran for the Georgia State Senate seat representing the 43rd district in 1994, receiving the endorsement of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
[5] In 2004, Republicans won control of the Georgia Senate, and stripped Stokes of her committee leadership positions.
[1][6] She received an endorsement from Barnes,[1] but lost the Democratic nomination to Cynthia McKinney,[7] and was elected a DeKalb County commissioner that fall.
[3] After Jason Carter entered the race, Stokes decided to run for lieutenant governor instead.