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.
Ride-sharing company Lyft was reprimanded Tuesday by the Georgia State Election Board for offering discounted rides to the polls on Election Day.
The board voted 3-1 to send a letter reprimanding the company but did not recommend a fine or criminal sanction. Board member Janice Johnston said the discounted rides were unfair to voters in rural locations where rides were harder to come by.
Read more here.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Tuesday on social media she would not run for governor of Georgia in 2026, ending speculation about her plans.
“One day, I might just run purely out of the blessing of the wonderful people of Georgia, my family and friends,” she wrote in a lengthy social media post, “but it won’t be in 2026.”
In the same post, Greene criticized Republicans' "lukewarm platforms that never address the real issues plaguing our state.”
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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza calling it a "genocide."
“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” Greene said in a social media post on Monday.
The New York Times said Greene was the first congressional Republican to use the word to describe the unfolding Middle East conflict. The Georgia Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump's MAGA agenda.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is moving ahead with the latest phase of Georgia’s voter roll audit, announcing this morning that his office completed a mailing to more than 218,000 voters.
The postcards were sent to registrants listed as active but who haven’t voted or updated their information in at least five years.
Voters who don’t respond will be shifted to inactive status — and if they remain inactive through the 2026 and 2028 elections, they’ll be eligible for removal ahead of 2029. Raffensperger called the outreach a routine part of list maintenance required by state and federal law, although voting rights activists say it risks disenfranchising eligible voters.
Related: Georgia begins one of the largest voter registration cancellations in history
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins says his Senate campaign raised $220,000 in the first 12 hours after making his candidacy official Monday.
That number can't be verified until Collins, R-Jackson, submits his first quarterly campaign finance report in mid-October. But he is hoping to have the type of haul that scares off the competition, which is currently fellow Congressman Buddy Carter and in the coming days could also include former football coach Derek Dooley.
"It's been a fast-paced 12 hrs," Collins wrote on X. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
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Congressman Mike Collins' announcement that he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has shaken up the race and drawn national headlines.
But on X, people are also talking about an unfortunate typo in a video posted on an account used to amplify Collins' campaign. In the teaser video, which Collins' team said was created by a fan, his home state is misspelled "Georiga" at the very end.
A spokesman for Collins said his campaign is aware of the typo but won't be taking the video down.
"They meant well, and it’s a nice video," the spokesman said. "It’s not the first and won’t be the last.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock is reintroducing federal voting legislation named for late Congressman John Lewis amid a national discussion on the politicization of the election process in states like Texas and California.
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would set new national standards for voter registration and the administration of elections. It also would update the formula used to determine if states or localities have a history of discrimination warranting the need for federal oversight of their election systems.
The House version of the bill was introduced in March by U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama.
With Republicans holding slim majorities in the House and Senate, the bill is unlikely to gain traction in either chamber. It was first introduced in 2021 when Democrats had control of Congress and the White House, but Republicans used the filibuster to block progress.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins launched his run for the U.S. Senate Monday.
The Jackson Republican's run adds to the drama in the GOP primary for the seat currently held by Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Last week, Gov. Brian Kemp told Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King that he would endorse former football coach Derek Dooley's bid the Senate. King then suspended his campaign. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter remains a force in the race.
Collins pledged to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“We need a senator who works for Georgia, not the California crazies or New York nut jobs,” he said in his opening video.
Read more here.
A push by some Republicans to eliminate the Georgia income tax continues to gain steam ahead of next year's election.
Sen. Blake Tillery, a likely candidate for lieutenant governor, will chair a committee that will study eliminating the tax in coming months. He made his pitch Thursday.
“My role as chair is not to debate whether we do away with the state income tax,” Tillery told reporters. “It’s to determine how we will do away with the state income tax.”
Tillery said it would be “premature” to lay out a specific plan to eliminate the income tax – that’s what the committee is for. But he expects lawmakers to adopt a “realistic and responsible” plan in 2026.
Tillery was appointed to lead the committee by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – himself a candidate for governor and an advocate for eliminating the income tax. Look for this to be a hotly contested proposal.
U.S. Rep. Brian Jack was among three Republicans who voted with Democrats to obtain files related to the sex trafficking investigation involving deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.
That could put Jack, who served as President Donald Trump's political director during his first White House term and remains close with him, on the outs with the president.
Jack, R-Peachtree City, supported a motion in the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement on Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice's Epstein-related documents, Politico reported.
The subpoena request also includes former President Bill Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey, among others.
The motion passed 8-2, and a spokesperson for the committee told Politico the subpoena must now be issued.
Jack declined to comment.