Early voting in the midterm is just days away, and polling shows over half a million Georgians still don't know who they are voting for in an already tight race. Here's a quick look at the candidates, their backgrounds, and their policies:
Who is running for GA governor 2026?
- Republican Rick Jackson
- Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Democrat
- Age: 56
- Residence: Atlanta
- Background: Fulton County Superior Court judge 2008-2010, Atlanta City Council member 2010-2018, mayor of Atlanta 2018-2022, senior advisor to President Joe Biden and director of his Office of Public Engagement 2022-2023.
- Website: keishaforgovernor.com
- Policies include:
- Education: Creating a path to free technical and community college, eliminating state income tax for teachers, and boosting literacy.
- Healthcare:Launching a rural care initiative, expanding Medicaid, ending Georgia Pathways, investing in maternal health, including reproductive rights protections.
- Public Safety:Expanding GBI capacity, supporting university background checks, strengthening re-entry pathways, and investing in targeted violence reduction efforts.
- Small Businesses:Create an office of small business and a deputy commissioner for small business, expand small business loans and grant programs.
- Endorsements include: Former President Joe Biden, U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Nikia Smith Sellers
Rick Jackson, Republican
- Age: 72
- Residence: Cumming
- Background: Longtime entrepreneur, chairman and CEO of Jackson Healthcare.
- Website: rickjackson.com
- Policies include:
- Affordability:Freeze property taxes, cut state income tax in half to eventually eliminate it, using tech including AI to "eliminate wasteful spending and improve services," and free tuition, room, and board at public colleges and technical schools.
- Children:Strengthen the Georgia Parents' Bill of Rights, supporting foster care, and ensuring transgender girls don't compete in girls' sports and don't use girls' bathrooms or locker rooms.
- Immigration and Law Enforcement:"Ban revolving-door justice....reject soft-on-crime policies....make Georgia number one in the nation for deporting criminal (undocumented) immigrants."
- Politics:Enact term limits for all politicians, audit every government program, and raise expectations.
- Endorsements include: President Donald Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, former governors Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue
Georgia governor polls
Here are some recent polls for the governor's race in Georgia:
- Oct. 4 — Decision Desk HQ, Jackson 48.8%, Bottoms 46.8%
- Oct. 4 — Silver Bulletin, Jackson 47.8%, Bottoms 46.9% (this is an average calculated from many polls, not an independent poll)
- Oct. 2-3 — Wedgewood Polls, Jackson 51%, Bottoms 49%
- Sept. 22-23 — InsiderAdvantage, Jackson 48%, Bottoms 46%
- Sept. 15-18 — YouGov, Jackson 47%, Bottoms 44%
When is the GA governor debate?
Atlanta News First will be hosting a town hall debate between Jackson and Bottoms at 8 p.m. Tuesday. It will be available to stream online and on Gray Media stations like channel 46 in Metro Atlanta, channel 12 in the Augusta area, and channel 11 in the Savannah area.
Atlanta Press Club is broadcasting a gubernatorial debate 8-9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12. Jackson will not be attending. It will be live-streamed on gpb.org as well as the Atlanta Press Club YouTube
channel. It will also be on GPB channels which are channel 8 for the Atlanta area, 9 for the Savannah area, and 20 for the Augusta area.
When is the election for governor of Georgia?
- First day of early voting: Oct. 13
- Last day of early voting: Oct. 30
- Election day: Nov. 3
- Runoff election day (if needed): Dec. 1
Who is the governor of Georgia?
Brian Kemp has been governor of Georgia since 2019 and was re-elected in 2022. He's not running for re-election again as he is capped at two terms.
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Still undecided about Georgia governor race? Here's a guide to help
