There’s more than a year to go until the 2026 midterm election. But in battleground Georgia, the races for U.S. Senate, governor and a host of other contests are already heating up. Georgia has played a critical role in recent elections, and it’s expected to again prove a bellwether.
At the state Capitol, there’s a wide-open race to replace Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is prevented by term limits from running for reelection.
In Washington, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is seeking a second term and trying to prove that Georgia is still a swing state, despite backing Donald Trump for president in November.
Then there are a host of down-ballot races — from statewide constitutional officers to members of Congress to state legislators.
A bipartisan group of Georgia House lawmakers, including Speaker Jon Burns, held a prayer vigil Wednesday for the victims of the deadly flooding in Texas this month.
"It's a horrific personal tragedy for those families and that loss of life," Burns said. "We want Texans to know we care."
Burns also said he believes Georgia is prepared to manage extreme weather events. Burns said the state learned from previous natural disasters, such as last year's Hurricane Helene, to have 911 services available to be rerouted from impacted areas.
"We have a resiliency in our state with our infrastructure when it comes to the private and public sectors, and that ensures that we can really take care of ourselves," he said.
Sherry Boston, the district attorney in DeKalb County, will not run for the state's top prosecutor in the 2026 elections.
“I am incredibly honored that Georgians want me to lead at the state level," she said in a statement. "However, the voters of DeKalb County just reelected me in November, and I am committed to continuing my service as district attorney.
"I still have important things I want to accomplish in this office and for the greater community," she said. "I look forward to working with our next attorney general to continue to keep the people of Georgia safe and to hold bad actors accountable.”
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger apparently became one of the first Georgia politicians to return campaign contributions from the Frost family, owners of the scandal-ridden First Liberty Building & Loan.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says founder Brant Frost IV spent millions of dollars of investors’ money on personal expenses, plus more than $570,000 on campaign contributions.
It’s not clear who received the contributions in question. But pressure has been mounting on candidates to return them.
On Monday, Raffensperger called on candidates to return the money. And on Wednesday he made a show of returning his own contributions – $8,417.15. He made the check payable to S. Gregory Hays, the court-appointed receiver overseeing First Liberty’s finances.
Democrats are hoping to weaponize President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law to win over swing voters. Now they’re unveiling a new initiative to hammer that argument home.
The Democratic National Committee unveiled TrumpTax.com this morning to show how Georgians are impacted by federal cuts to Medicaid and other public programs, and the impact of his tariffs.
“While Trump plunges our economy towards crisis, the Trump Tax guarantees Georgians will feel the pain from his disastrous economic agenda,” DNC chair Ken Martin said.
Republicans, of course, are also making a bet that extending Trump’s tax cuts as well as bolstering immigration enforcement and national security spending will pay dividends in the midterms. Nearly every senior Georgia GOP official has endorsed the Trump-backed package.
This was originally published in the July 16 Politically Georgia newsletter.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop's southwest Georgia district is the only competitive congressional seat in the state. But the Albany Democrat is still the favorite given his wide name recognition and the district's slight Democratic majority.
Bishop has shaken off Republican challengers in recent elections cycles. So far, no Republican has paperwork to run for the 2nd Congressional District seat in 2026, but it is likely there will eventually be at least one.
In the meantime, Bishop continues to build a war chest.
In the three-month reporting period that ended June 30, he raised $287,801 and has $264,189 in the bank.
Democrat Peter Hubbard claimed victory in Tuesday's Public Service Commission District 3 primary runoff election against Keisha Sean Waites.
Hubbard, who founded a clean energy nonprofit called Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, will now challenge incumbent Republican Fitz Johnson in November, seeking to break the GOP’s nearly two-decade hold on the PSC.
In 2006, Republican Chuck Eaton defeated the sole Democrat on the board, David L. Burgess, resulting in the GOP holding all five seats.
"Power bills are skyrocketing, no one is holding the current Republican PSC accountable and voters have the power to change that," Hubbard said.
State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson plans to resign next month to care for a family member who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The Democratic lawmaker's last day in office will be Aug. 4.
Hutchinson called it "one of the most difficult decisions of my life."
The departure creates a vacancy in the Gwinnett-based district to be filled by a special election called by the governor.
Welcome to Georgia Decides 2026: Live Election Updates from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Visit us for the latest news from the campaign trail brought to you by our award-winning political journalists.
Who's running and who isn't? Where is money going? What does it all mean?
The political landscape is changing quickly. Stay up to speed with the most trusted political team in the state.