ATLANTA — Qualifying closed Friday for Georgia’s governor and U.S. Senate races, setting both fields for May 19 primary elections in a closely contested swing state. Three Republicans have entered to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, while eight Republicans and eight Democrats are competing to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
With Kemp unable to seek reelection, Georgia’s simultaneous open-seat governor’s race and Senate challenge have drawn candidates ranging from a Trump-endorsed lieutenant governor and a secretary of state his own party tried to block, to a former Atlanta mayor regarded by many as the Democratic front-runner and a Republican-turned-Democrat touting crossover appeal.
Senate Race
Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, faces three Republican challengers: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, and Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach.
Ossoff rallied with supporters Monday, arguing that voters should reelect him because “they recognize this president has gone too far, that the chaos and the corruption and the cruelty are wrong for Georgia and wrong for the country.” He said voters see “a need for checks and balances” against President Donald Trump and warned that “my opponents will be his puppets.”
Collins, who received an endorsement Wednesday from The Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy group, called Ossoff “California’s third senator.” Collins said the priority should be “making sure that this country is safe, making sure it’s productive, and making sure that it is affordable to people here.”
Dooley said his background in coaching gives him the ability to reach voters who do not normally cast Republican ballots. “It’s important we have a candidate that can appeal to a lot of these crossover voters, people who don’t always vote in the midterms, who don’t always vote Republican,” he said.
Carter offered a direct statement as he registered to qualify. “We’ve got to get rid of Jon Ossoff,” he said.
Republican Governor’s Race
Rick Jackson, a healthcare businessman, became the last of eight Republicans to qualify Friday. Jackson, who has spent heavily on advertising, said of his campaign: “there is no way to buy an election. You’ve got to earn it.”
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has been endorsed by Trump, said the novelty of Jackson’s entrance would fade. “The newness is going to wear off, and they’re going to look to the person who’s been most consistent throughout the years,” Jones said. “And I have that.”
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also qualified for the governor’s race, doing so Wednesday without a hitch despite a resolution passed last year by the Georgia Republican Party calling on party officials to refuse to let him qualify. According to the Associated Press, the resolution reflects deep hostility many Republican activists have toward Raffensperger following his refusal to help Trump overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Raffensperger has sidestepped questions about 2020 in his run, saying “the most important thing right now is how do you kind of deal with this affordability crisis and you create good paying jobs.”
Attorney General Chris Carr, the fourth major Republican candidate, said voters “care about jobs, safety, education, affordability” and “don’t really want to talk about social issues the way the right and the left traditionally have.”
Democratic Governor’s Race
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, regarded by many as the front-runner among the eight Democrats running for governor, said her platform — including affordability measures, free technical college, and cutting state income taxes for teachers — would appeal beyond the Democratic base to general election voters who have not elected a Democrat governor in the last 24 years.
“I’m speaking my truth on what I feel a leader and a governor in this state needs to offer to people, so I don’t have to worry about changing my message for a general election audience,” Bottoms said.
Geoff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor who switched parties, said he is “focused on the affordability crisis, the health care crisis, and unfortunately still the Donald Trump crisis.”
Former state Sen. Jason Esteves drew contrasts with both Bottoms and Duncan, noting that Bottoms chose not to run for a second term as mayor and that Duncan stepped away from the political arena after serving as lieutenant governor. “We can’t afford to have folks that will stay silent, nor can we have folks that are going to be absent or quit when the going gets tough,” Esteves said.
Former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond described his low-income upbringing and subsequent track record of political success as evidence of the “American dream,” saying he is running to represent Georgians who are working multiple jobs and cannot afford to pay their insurance.