2026 Midterms State GuideGeorgia
Hold on to your peaches and sweet tea.
- PrimaryStatewideMay 19This date has passed.
- RunoffPrimaryJune 16This date has passed.
- Election DayGeneralNov. 3
- RunoffIf neededDecember 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 voting begins
- Governor
- 2 candidates
- U.S. Senate
- 6 candidates
- U.S. House
- 14 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 3
Your to-do list
0 of 3 doneImportant dates
- Sept. 15First day county registrars could begin transmitting ballots to military/overseas (UOCAVA) voters This date has passed.
- Oct. 5Voter registration deadline
- Oct. 13Early voting begins
- Oct. 23Absentee ballot request deadline
- Oct. 30Early voting ends
- Nov. 3Election Day
- Dec. 1Runoff (if needed)
What’s at stake
Georgia is one of the true battleground states of 2026, with two major races closely-watched. Senator Jon Ossoff (D) is defending his seat after flipping it in the January 2021 runoff that shifted control of the Senate; his Republican challenger is Rep. Mike Collins, who won a June 16 runoff. It's the only Democratic-held Senate seat up 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- Improving Georgia's healthcare system through market-based reforms and reducing costs for families
- Fighting crime and strengthening public safety across Georgia's cities and rural communities
- Expanding economic opportunity through workforce development and business investment
- Top priorities
Keisha Lance BottomsDemocrat- Expanding access to affordable healthcare, including protecting Medicaid and supporting Georgia's uninsured population
- Creating economic opportunity and well-paying jobs for Georgians of all backgrounds, including investments in workforce training
- Improving public education funding and teacher pay so Georgia children can compete in a 21st-century economy
- Get to know ’em
Al BartellIndependent - Get to know ’em
Allen BuckleyLibertarian - Chris CapparellIndependent
- 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
Two. Reps Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-1) and Mike Collins (R-10) ran for Senate.
- Competitive districts
Cook doesn’t rank any Georgia district competitive. GA-1, GA-3, GA-7-12, and GA-14 are solidly Republican and the rest are solidly Democrat. 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 at 40% of the land's 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 (at 40% of the land's 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.