Georgia’s Bentley Hudgins declares a new progressive political era

Georgia state representative-elect Bentley Hudgins responded to a conservative social media post about their election by declaring, “Woke 3.0 has now commenced.” The remark matters because it signals renewed confidence among some progressives after Democratic gains in the midterms, amid debate over whether the politics associated with 2020 remain popular.

Hudgins was elected to represent Georgia House District 90, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and said they would be the first openly non-binary or transgender person elected to a state legislature in the Deep South and the first Japanese-American elected in Georgia. The article links “Woke 3.0” to comments by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who described “Woke 1” as “crazy”, and to other Democrats who have since distanced themselves from positions such as defunding the police. Commentator Hasan Piker also used the phrase after the midterm results.