 She served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, and was thereafter elected Georgia's Secretary of State.In 2010, Handel ran for Governor of Georgia, narrowly losing the Republican primary to Nathan Deal, who portrayed Handel as overly supportive of gay rights and abortion rights.In 2011, Handel was appointed Senior Vice President of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a charity focused on fighting breast cancer.