2026 Midterms State GuideGeorgia
Hold on to your peaches and sweet tea.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Georgia, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified. Any race that goes to a runoff is decided Dec. 1.
A prayer for Georgia
Gracious God, we come before You on behalf of Georgia, the Peach State, home to sweet things and hard-fought history. As Georgians head to the polls, we ask for Your steady hand over the process. May every vote be cast with care, may the counting be honest and orderly, and may the results be accepted graciously. Guard Georgia from the political rancor that has wounded it before.
Read the whole prayer- RunoffIf neededDec. 1
Updated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your peaches and sweet tea, and let’s get into it.
Georgia at a glance
Georgia votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for governor, U.S. Senate, all 14 U.S. House seats and three statewide ballot measures.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Voter registration
- Oct. 5: Voter registration deadline
- Early voting
- Oct. 13: Early in-person voting begins
- Governor
- 2 candidates
- U.S. Senate
- 5 candidates
- U.S. House
- 14 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 3
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Georgia certifies the results
Results become official once Georgia certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Runoffs, if needed
A race where no candidate wins enough of the vote goes to a runoff between the top two.
- Dec. 1General election runoff (if needed).
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- May 19Primaries This date has passed.
- Jun. 16Primary runoffs This date has passed.
- Oct. 5Voter registration deadline This date has passed.
- Oct. 13Early in-person voting begins This date has passed.
- Oct. 23Absentee ballot application deadline This date has passed.
- Oct. 30Early voting ends This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day This date has passed.
- Dec. 1General election runoff (if needed)
What’s at stake
Georgia is one of the true battleground states of 2026, with two major, closely watched races. Senator Jon Ossoff (D) is defending his seat after flipping it in the January 2021 runoff that shifted Senate control; his Republican challenger is Rep. Mike Collins, who won a June 16 runoff. Ossoff is the only Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024. The open governor's race (incumbent Brian Kemp is term-limited) features Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, against Republican Rick Jackson, the healthcare businessman who won June 16’s runoff, defeating Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a notable upset. Georgia voters rank inflation as their top concern, making the economic argument central to both contests. Georgia's 14 congressional seats are less competitive by comparison. Republicans hold a 9-5 edge, and no district is currently rated as a toss-up.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
Georgia is choosing a governor
See whose priorities line up with yours
Here are the top priorities each candidate lists, in their own words. Pick the 2 that matter most to you. Names stay hidden until you see your results.
0 of 2 picked
- Top priorities
Rick JacksonRepublican- Lowering costs by freezing property taxes, halving the state income tax in four years and freezing college tuition
- Strengthening schools by raising teacher pay, improving childhood literacy and offering career pathways for every student
- Improving health care by using better technology, cutting middlemen who drive up costs and expanding rural access
- Top priorities
Keisha Lance BottomsDemocrat- Expanding access to affordable health care, including protecting Medicaid and covering more uninsured Georgians
- Lowering housing costs by speeding permitting, expanding down payment and renter aid and creating a housing trust fund
- Improving public education with more school funding and higher teacher pay
- Elbert (Al) BartellIndependent
Write-in
- Cassandra EastonIndependent
Write-in
- Christina Loren ClementRepublican
Write-in
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
- Shadrach’s big picture
Georgia sends 14 representatives to Congress. Republicans currently hold 9 seats; Democrats hold 5.
- Open seats
Four: Reps. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-1) and Mike Collins (R-10) left to run for Senate (Carter lost in the primaries), Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-11) is retiring, and Rep. Everton Blair (D-13) did not get the nomination for a full term after winning his seat in a special election in August.
- Competitive districts
No Georgia district is considered competitive. GA-1, GA-3, GA-7 through GA-12, and GA-14 are solidly Republican; the rest are solidly Democratic. Suburban Atlanta used to feature toss-up districts, but after a 2024 map swap, the area has drifted toward safe territory.
Statewide ballot measures
3 to read before you go. Tap one to open it.
This measure moves to allow the state legislature to create and dedicate revenue to a fund titled the Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund, which could be used only to expand, maintain, and operate the state's 9-1-1 systems and would include transitioning the existing 9-1-1 emergency response system into a new, IP-based network system.
Voting yessupports letting the state legislature create a Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund with its own dedicated revenue, to be spent only on expanding, maintaining, and operating the state's 9-1-1 systems, including moving them to a new IP-based networkVoting noopposes this amendment, so the legislature cannot set up a dedicated 9-1-1 fund, and the state's 9-1-1 systems keep being paid for as they are nowThis amendment moves to increase the maximum acreage of agricultural and timber property that can be classified as bona fide (translation: genuine) conservation use property (which is taxed based on its current use as farm or timber land rather than its market value) from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres.
Voting yessupports doubling the maximum amount of agricultural and timber land that can be taxed as conservation use property (based on its current use rather than its market value), from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acresVoting noopposes this amendment, keeping the conservation use limit at 2,000 acresThis amendment moves to require that probate judges be elected on a nonpartisan basis (no D or R next to their name on the ballot), just like every other judge is required to be.
Voting yessupports requiring probate judges to be elected on a nonpartisan ballot, with no D or R next to their names, like every other judge in GeorgiaVoting noopposes this amendment, keeping probate judges as the one kind of judge not required to be elected on a nonpartisan basis
Also on the ballot
Other races Georgia voters will decide.
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- Agriculture Commissioner
- Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner
- Labor Commissioner
- Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Public Service Commission (2 seats)
- State Senate
- State House
- State Supreme Court
- Intermediate appellate courts
- School boards
- Municipal government
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
Know someone voting in Georgia?
Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
From the newsroom
How TPO has covered Georgia this cycle. Tap one to read it here.
A prayer for Georgia
Gracious God, we come before You on behalf of Georgia, the Peach State, home to sweet things and hard-fought history. As Georgians head to the polls, we ask for Your steady hand over the process. May every vote be cast with care, may the counting be honest and orderly, and may the results be accepted graciously. Guard Georgia from the political rancor that has wounded it before.
We lift up each candidate before You; each one is a person made in Your image, with gifts and flaws alike. Wherever they lead, may their leadership make Georgia more just, more peaceful, and more prosperous. Give them the humility to serve rather than to rule.
For Georgians who feel anxious, divided, or simply exhausted by a political season that never seems to stop, may Your peace settle over them today. No runoff, no November contest, no Senate seat can give what You freely give. Lead them beside still waters. Restore their souls.
Amen.