Georgia Democrats Seek To Win Governor’s Office For First Time Since 1998

The 2026 race for Georgia governor is well underway with 6 Democratic candidates competing for the nod to take on the eventual Republican nominee.

The candidates include former Atlanta mayor Keisha Bottoms, former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, former State Senator Jason Esteves, former Dekalb CEO Michael Thurmond, Pastor Olu Brown, and former State Representative Derrick Jackson; former State Representative Ruwa Romman ended her campaign in February.

The contest has featured sparse polling, but recent polls have shown Lance-Bottoms, who enjoys the highest name recognition in the group, with a large lead over the pack with Duncan a distant second.

Georgia has not elected a Democrat for governor since Roy Barnes won a single term in 1998, which puts extra emphasis on Democrats winning the governor’s office for the first time in almost three decades.

The winner of the Democratic primary will need to mend whatever fences need to be mended quickly in order to bring the Democratic party together while ensuring Black voters, who comprise a majority of primary voters, turn out in the type of heavy numbers a Democrat needs to win statewide.

In addition, the primary winner may need to peel off a percentage of swing or non-party aligned voters and some Republicans who may be unhappy with the current administration as well.

The contest will likely go to a runoff, with polls suggesting Lance-Bottoms and Duncan potentially emerging as the top two vote-getters. Lance-Bottoms’ campaign has sought to generate enthusiasm among Black and younger voters, emphasizing her high visibility as a former Atlanta mayor while Duncan’s campaign has focused on his potential crossover appeal as a disaffected Republican and now Democrat who stood up to President Trump.

This year’s election takes place during a midterm environment where Trump and his party are seeing both of their approvals decline as the war in Iran, inflation, high gas prices, and the Epstein files has voters seeing red–and not the red associated with the Republican party, but red as in anger that Democrats are hoping to harness in order to return to the governor’s mansion and potentially flip some legislative seats as well.

The 8 candidates in the Republican field includes Lt. Governor Burt Jones, healthcare executive Rick Jackson, Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary Of State Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Army National Guard member Ken Yasger, retired software engineer Thomas Williams, entrepreneur Gregg Kirkpatrick, and real estate executive Clark Dean. Polling shows a tight contest between Jones and Jackson, both of whom have leaned into their own personal wealth to power their campaigns, suggesting the Democratic nominee will need to keep money flowing in order to stay competitive in the money race.

Because Georgia has a decidedly conservative lean, the Republican nominee is expected to maintain an advantage over any of the Democratic candidates in a one on one match-up. However, Democrats nationwide have been enthusiastic and subsequently over-performing in partisan races up and down the ballot, potentially creating an opportunity for a Democratic victory in November.

The primary date is May 19, 2026.