A long and prominent midterm election season in Georgia may be soon coming to an end, but it is far from over.
The state's top two seats are up for election this cycle, with incumbent Democratic SenatorJon Ossoff and Rep. Mike Collins battling it out for the U.S. Senate seat and Rick Jackson and Keisha Lance Bottoms locked head-to-head for a spot in the governor's mansion.
But, there are also other major races down the ballot to keep an eye on in Georgia this year.
This week the Atlanta Press Club announced the schedule for debates this fall for 11 seats, hosted by the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, and voters may have to wait until just one month before election day to hear candidates take each other on. Debates will be held for both state and federal
seats.
Here's what is coming in October.
State, federal candidates hit debate stage
The Atlanta Press Club will host 11 debates, all of which will be livestreamed on the organization's YouTube page and broadcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Only the senate and governor debates will be live on GPB. Others will be live on YouTube, but GPB broadcasts will be at different times.
The debates will take place on two days in October, less than a month before election day and as early voting begins across the state.
Here is the debate schedule:
Monday, October 12 —
- Lieutenant Governor: Greg Dolezal (R) and Josh McLaurin (D) — 1:30-2:30 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
- Attorney General: Brian Strickland (R) and Tanya Miller (D) — 2:45-3:15 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
- Secretary of State: Tim Fleming (R) and Penny Brown Reynolds (D) — 3:45-4:15 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
- Public Service Commission, District 3: Fitz Johnson (R) and Peter Hubbard (D) — 5:30-6 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.
- Public Service Commission, District 5: Josh Tolbert (R) and Shelia Edwards (D) — 6:30-7 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 13 at 4:30 p.m.
- Governor: Rick Jackson (R) and Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) — 8-9 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 12 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, October 13 —
- School Superintendent: Richards Woods (R) and Lydia Powell (D) — 2:30-3 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 14 at 3 p.m.
- Agriculture Commissioner: Tyler Harper (R) and Katherine Juhan-Arnold (D) — 3:45-4:15 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 14 at 3:30 p.m.
- Insurance Commissioner: John King (R) and Keisha Waites (D) — 4:45-5:15 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 14 at 4 p.m.
- Labor Commissioner: Bárbara Rivera Holmes (R) and Nikki Porcher (D) — 6-6:30 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 14 at 4:30 p.m.
- U.S. Senate: Mike Collins (R) and Jon Ossoff (D) — 8-9 p.m., GPB broadcast Oct. 13 at 8 p.m.
Will there be other debates?
U.S. Senate candidates Collins and Ossoff will debate before the Atlanta Press Club series.
Collins and Ossoff will participate in a televised debate moderated by Atlanta News First at 7 p.m. on October 8. The debate will be broadcast to all Gray media stations across the state.
Gubernatorial candidates Bottoms and Jackson will also likely have an ANF debate, as both have challenged the other to additional debates, but the date and time have not yet been agreed upon and released.
Where are the midterm elections?
The last day to register to vote in the Georgia midterm elections is Oct. 5th. If you already registered to vote and participated in the primaries, you do not need to register again for the general election.
The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 23, and voters can begin to request the ballots on Aug. 17.
Early voting will start on Oct. 13 and run through Oct. 30. Exact locations and times for early voting in your district can be found on the My Voter Page.
The general election will be held on Nov. 3. All polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Irene Wright covers politics in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When will midterm candidates hit debate stage in Atlanta? See schedule
