Lion Leadership Fund Announces Newest 2026 Slate Endorsements
Eleven Republican women across five states earn the Fund's backing, including candidates for statewide office and for seats that will decide legislative control
Washington, D.C. – The Lion Leadership Fund today announced its latest round of 2026 endorsements, backing eleven Republican women running in Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and for statewide office.
The candidates in this round reflect the range that has defined the Fund's 2026 slate: nurses, farmers, educators, attorneys, and small business owners who came to public service from somewhere other than politics. Several are defending seats that will help determine which party controls their chamber.
“These are candidates who know how to govern, not just how to campaign,” said Amanda Iovino, Senior Advisor to the Lion Leadership Fund. “They have delivered for their communities in committee rooms and in their own careers before that, and they have shown they can win in places where winning is hard. That combination is exactly what we look for.”
THE ENDORSED CANDIDATES
GEORGIA
Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes, Commissioner of Labor. A first-generation American born in Puerto Rico and Georgia's first Latina constitutional officer, and the former President and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. She is modernizing the state's unemployment insurance system, expanding workforce training partnerships, and cutting red tape at the department, with the aim of connecting Georgians to good-paying jobs and making the department work at the speed of business.
Rep. Soo Hong, House District 103. The daughter of first-generation immigrants, born in Seoul, South Korea, and brought to the United States at a young age. A Georgia Tech graduate and Mercer-trained attorney, she has practiced law for more than 18 years and owns her own firm in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties. Named a Floor Leader for Gov. Brian Kemp in 2023 and elected Vice Chair of the Majority Caucus in 2026, she is focused on public safety, defending constitutional rights, and market-based health care reforms that lower costs and expand access.
KENTUCKY
Rep. Vanessa Grossl, House District 88. The daughter of a public school teacher and a diesel mechanic, and a former classroom teacher named Outstanding New World Languages Teacher of the Year in 2013. She and her husband run a small business, Grossl Aviation. Serving on Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Postsecondary Education, and Small Business and Information Technology, she is working to expand workforce and postsecondary opportunity and to support the small businesses that anchor one of Kentucky's most competitive districts.
MICHIGAN
Rep. Jamie Thompson, House District 28. A nurse, mother, and grandmother who believes in servant leadership and works across the aisle. She has focused on protecting mental health patients, supporting families caring for incapacitated loved ones, improving menopause care, protecting Medicare for seniors, and helping children with special needs receive the coverage they deserve. Now in her second term representing a highly competitive Downriver district spanning southern Wayne and northern Monroe counties, she is working to fix local roads, fund government at sustainable levels, and hold state departments accountable. She lives in Brownstown with her husband and the three grandchildren they are raising.
Rep. Jennifer Wortz, House District 35. A working farmer who, with her husband, owns and operates Central Grace Farms, and a former agriscience teacher and manager of the Branch County Conservation District. As Vice Chair of the House Agriculture Committee, she is working to deliver regulatory relief for farmers and small businesses, defend constitutional freedoms, and make sure rural Michigan has a voice in Lansing.
MINNESOTA
Sen. Julia Coleman, Senate District 48. The youngest woman ever elected to the Minnesota Senate, now serving as Assistant Minority Leader and Republican lead on the Senate Education Policy Committee. A University of Minnesota graduate who served on the Chanhassen City Council and worked as a public relations manager in the state's medical device industry, she is focused on raising student reading and math proficiency, empowering parents, delivering tax relief, and rooting out fraud in state government, and has secured $13.2 million in local infrastructure investments for her district.
Sen. Keri Heintzeman, Senate District 6. A small business owner and homeschool mother of six who won an eight-candidate primary and then the 2025 special election with more than 60 percent of the vote. She focuses on protecting taxpayers, strengthening rural Minnesota, expanding educational freedom, and holding government accountable for waste and fraud.
Rep. Bernie Perryman, Senate District 14. A two-term state representative running for one of Minnesota's most consequential Senate seats. After helping bring balance to the State House in 2025, she is campaigning on economic relief and affordability, ending fraud in state government, and supporting local businesses.
Sara Bertschinger, House District 20B. A registered nurse and citizen advocate who lives on her family's centennial homestead near Pine Island. She won her August primary by nearly 29 points and is running to preserve her district's rural values, defend the Constitution, and restore accountable government.
Geri Theis, House District 15B. A business owner in Redwood Falls whose family runs five generations deep in the district. A past Treasurer and President of the Minnesota Association of Realtors, she is running to hold state government accountable and lower costs for working families, because affordability is not a luxury but a necessity.
“Every one of these women could have done something easier than run for office,” Iovino said. “They chose to serve instead, and their districts are better for it. We are proud to stand with them.”
The Lion Leadership Fund expects to announce additional endorsements through the fall.
About Lion Leadership Fund
The Lion Leadership Fund supports conservative candidates who demonstrate principled leadership, and who believe in the sanctity of public service – the responsibility inherent in the position to act in the best interest of their communities without shying away from tough issues or decisions and working across the aisle to find the best solutions when needed. Learn more about Lion Leadership Fund.
Media Contact:
Amanda Iovino
516-459-5931
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