Majette, Denise L. (Denise Lorraine), 1955-

Denise Lorraine Majette (born May 18, 1955) is an American politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, she represented Georgia's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005.

Born in Brooklyn, she attended Yale University and completed a Juris Doctor degree at Duke University in 1979. She began her legal career in North Carolina as a Legal Aid staff attorney and a clinical adjunct law professor at Wake Forest University. A resident of the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain since 1983, Majette worked in private law practice before being named an administrative law judge at the Georgia state board of workers' compensation in 1992. The following year, Georgia Governor Zell Miller appointed her judge of the State Court of DeKalb County. Majette held the judgeship for nine years.

She resigned from the judgeship in 2002 to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia's 4th congressional district, which is based in DeKalb County. She defeated 10-year incumbent Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic primary by a 58% to 42% margin. Majette's upset win was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district.

After one term in the U.S. House, Majette decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Zell Miller, who had been appointed to the seat in 2000 following the death of Republican Paul Coverdell. Miller's decision not to seek a full term in the Senate had caught the Georgia Democrats by surprise. Majette's announcement that she would seek to replace Miller also caught Democrats by surprise, as she was not on anyone's call list when Democrats began seeking a candidate to replace Miller. Majette finished first in the Democratic primary but was forced into a runoff against millionaire businessman Cliff Oxford, which she won. Majette was the first African American and the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. In the general election, despite her vigorous attacks against her Republican opponent, 6th District Congressman Johnny Isakson, Majette was defeated, losing by 18 points.

Soon after leaving the House, Majette entered private law practice in Atlanta. In March 2006, Majette announced her candidacy for state School Superintendent of Georgia. She defeated substitute teacher Carlotta Harrell in the primary but lost to Republican incumbent Kathy Cox by a large margin in the general election. On March 28, 2014, the Georgia Supreme Court disbarred Majette, finding she overbilled clients and misled the Court about how much she was owed in fees.