The slate of matchups features prominent legislative leaders, business owners, and seasoned administrators competing for statewide offices ranging from the U.S. Senate to the Public Service Commission.
The primary cycle has drawn clear battle lines across Georgia politics as both major parties prepare for the fall showdown. With control of critical executive offices and legislative seats hanging in the balance, candidates across the board are sharpening their campaigns around issues spanning healthcare access, economic development, public education, and energy infrastructure.
Ossoff, who won his Senate seat in 2021, previously worked as an intern for Rep. John Lewis and led an investigative media company. Collins, a co-owner of his family’s trucking business, has represented Georgia’s 10th Congressional District in Washington since 2023.
The gubernatorial race brings together business leadership and municipal governance. On the Republican side, Rick Jackson, founder and CEO of health care staffing company Jackson Healthcare, has anchored parts of his narrative on his upbringing in foster care. The Democratic nominee, Keisha Lance Bottoms, served as the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, held a seat on the city council, worked as a judge, and later served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.
Lieutenant Governor and Executive Office Nominees
The race for lieutenant governor features state senator Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and has campaigned on property tax cuts and election integrity. He goes up against Democratic state senator Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs, an attorney who has served in the Legislature since 2019 and has made expanding Medicaid and repealing the state’s six-week abortion ban central to his platform.
In the contest for attorney general, state representative and House Democratic Caucus chair Tanya Miller, a former Fulton County homicide prosecutor, secures the Democratic nomination. She faces Republican state senator Brian Strickland, an attorney who has served in the Legislature since 2013 and chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For secretary of state, Democrats nominated former Fulton County judge Penny Brown Reynolds, who worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s civil rights office during the Biden administration. Republicans selected state representative Tim Fleming of Covington, a former deputy secretary of state under then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, a seventh-generation farmer and former state senator who took office in 2022, runs for re-election on the Republican ticket. He is challenged by Democrat Katherine Juhan-Arnold, an IT and infrastructure professional who founded a nonprofit farm focused on fresh produce and agricultural education.
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King, appointed in 2019 and elected to a full term in 2022, is the incumbent Republican. King brings a background as Doraville’s police chief and a major general in the Army National Guard. The Democratic nominee is Keisha Waites, a former member of the Atlanta City Council and the Georgia House who also worked in disaster assistance for FEMA and the Small Business Administration.
Labor, Education, and Energy Regulators
Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes, appointed to the post in 2025 after leading the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and serving on the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, is the Republican incumbent. The Democratic challenger is Nikki Porcher, a U.S. Air Force veteran, former public school teacher, and founder of a nonprofit supporting Black women entrepreneurs.
In the race for state school superintendent, incumbent Republican Richard Woods seeks another term after more than 30 years in public education as a teacher and principal, having served in the statewide role since 2015. The Democratic nominee is Lydia Powell, an educator with 26 years of experience working across alternative, high-achieving, and low-income schools.
Voters will also decide two seats on the Public Service Commission. For District 3, Democratic incumbent Peter Hubbard, founder of the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, defends his seat after winning a special election in 2025. He faces Republican Fitz Johnson, who was appointed to the commission in 2021 and served until Hubbard defeated him.
For District 5, Cobb County community advocate and business owner Shelia Edwards carries the Democratic nomination with a focus on rising power bills. She faces Republican Josh Tolbert, a mechanical engineer who has voiced criticism regarding commission approvals for energy infrastructure tied heavily to data centers.
The state will hold its general election to determine the final winners for all statewide posts.
