The 2024 elections ended only months ago – but in political terms they’re already old news. All eyes now turn to the 2026 midterms, where Georgia will once again be among the very most-watched battleground states with competitive races up and down the ballot. Here’s where we stand in the spring of 2025, a full year out from qualifying, as those campaigns begin to take form.
U.S. Senate
The most consequential race on the national scene is U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff defending his seat, with Republican control of the Senate very much up in the air. Ossoff will prove to be a formidable contender for any challenger, raising $11 million in the first quarter of 2025 and boasting an impressive resume of passed legislation to point to. He has opened himself up to some attacks from the right though, particularly by voting against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.”
Meanwhile the big ticket question of the year – is Gov. Brian Kemp going to enter the Senate race? Rumors have been flying and nobody knows for sure, his formidable campaign and fundraising apparatus have made him one of the most successful Georgia politicians of this century, and his entry in the race would clear the field of any Republican challengers. But many speculate he isn’t going to run, and in that case it would kick off a manic GOP primary race.
If Kemp doesn’t run some names to watch: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins has been one of President Donald Trump’s most prolific supporters in Congress, and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter isn’t far behind. Both have tossed around the idea of Senate runs. Georgia Fire and Insurance Commissioner John King and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, likewise are names to watch with statewide experience. And in the scenario that Kemp doesn’t run and the GOP primary fills up – that kicks off an entire slate of races down the ballot to fill those positions as well as another layer of races below that to fill the seats of the myriad of state House and Senate members running for higher office.
Governor
The Republican primary to succeed Kemp is setting up to be a heavyweight title fight, as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is expected to formally announce his campaign shortly and Attorney General Chris Carr has already done so. Jones is one of Trump’s closest Georgia allies and has a deep wallet and Capitol connections from his years as a state Senator. Carr, meanwhile hasn’t always been on Trump’s good side – but that’s not necessarily a campaign killer in the Peach State, as Kemp proved in 2022 when he eviscerated a Trump-backed David Perdue in the Republican primary. Expect this one to get a little nasty as two experienced politicians battle it out for the state’s highest seat.
The Democratic field is much more nebulous. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath was expected to be her party’s frontrunner but bowed out to help take care of her husband, who was diagnosed with cancer. Jason Carter, the grandson of the late former President Jimmy Carter, likewise declined to run. As of now Atlanta state Sen. Jason Esteves is the only Democrat officially in the race, hoping to build up some name recognition before things really heat up. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is expected to enter shortly after filing paperwork Monday that will allow her to begin fundraising, and two time gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, once the brightest star in the Democrats’ sky, is looming in the background as a potential contender. So too is former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, who has actually won a statewide race in Georgia before when he served as state labor commissioner.
Attorney General & Lt. Governor
The races to succeed Carr and Jones are only just beginning to take shape. In fact, no candidates have declared for lt. governor yet from either party, and no Democrats for attorney general. The dozens of state legislators considering those seats are no doubt working behind the scenes to gauge support and organize the apparatus needed to manage a statewide race.
But we do have two announced Republicans running for attorney general – a pair of state Senators in Brian Strickland and Bill Cowsert. Cowsert has pushed a handful of MAGA-backed bills in recent years that could engender support from that wing of the party, including an investigative committee looking into work Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and inspecting Stacey Abrams’ voter group the New Georgia Project which was recently slammed with ethics violations. Strickland, an attorney from McDonough, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seen as more of a moderate candidate, and can point to legislative wins on issues like criminal justice reform and mental health care.
