ATLANTA (AP) — Tuesday’s primary election in Georgia promises to be a major political showdown as Republican candidates compete for the chance to face Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff while engaging in an expensive battle for their party’s gubernatorial nomination.
For the Senate contest, Representatives Mike Collins and Buddy Carter are highlighting their conservative voting records in Congress, while former college football coach Derek Dooley presents himself as someone outside the political establishment.
The race for governor has been dramatically altered by healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson, whose campaign spending has exceeded that of any previous primary candidate in the state’s history by more than double. His opponents include fellow Republicans Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement; Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state; and Chris Carr, the state attorney general.
Democratic primary voters are also deciding who should spearhead their party’s attempt to capture the governor’s mansion for the first time since 1998. Their options include Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor; Geoff Duncan, a Republican-turned-Democrat who previously served as lieutenant governor; Jason Esteves, a former state senator; and Mike Thurmond, a former state labor commissioner.
Tuesday’s contests may not produce final winners if no candidates receive majority support. In such cases, the top two vote-getters would compete in a June 16 runoff.
Ossoff encounters no Democratic opposition as he seeks another term while establishing himself as a fierce Trump opponent. As the sole Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, his race has drawn national attention as Democrats work to regain Senate control.
The incumbent has collected nearly $60 million during this election cycle, far outpacing his potential Republican challengers. He has criticized the president and his family members regarding their private business activities. Ossoff describes political corruption as an issue affecting both parties and has promoted legislation prohibiting congressional members from trading individual stocks.
The Republican primary has become a measure of loyalty to the president. Collins, representing a district east of Atlanta, and Carter, representing a Savannah-centered district, emphasize their conservative congressional voting records. Dooley, son of the late University of Georgia coach Vince Dooley, claims he would support Trump’s policies without being influenced by Washington insider politics.
Carter has criticized Collins regarding an ongoing House ethics probe investigating whether the congressman misused taxpayer money by compensating the girlfriend of a senior aide for work she supposedly never completed. Collins maintains his innocence.
“If taxpayers can’t trust you to properly steward their money, how can they trust you to be a U.S. senator?” Carter asked Collins in a primary debate.
“Buddy,” Collins shot back, “I can tell through the voice that you know how the polling is going out there.”
Collins, who maintains strong connections with grassroots conservatives who supported Trump, focuses on his immigration work. He authored a 2025 law requiring immigrant detention when charged with specific crimes. Republicans view this issue as damaging to Ossoff because he first opposed the legislation before endorsing it following Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Advertising spending in the Republican gubernatorial primary has exceeded $113 million, with Jackson’s campaign accounting for more than $61 million of that total. In contrast, Democratic gubernatorial candidates have spent approximately $3 million on advertising.
Jones contends that his conservative legislative record as a state senator and lieutenant governor, paired with Trump’s backing, should make him the obvious Republican choice. Jackson is wagering that his outsider appeal will attract antiestablishment conservatives.
Both Jackson and Jones face opposition from other Republicans including Raffensperger and Carr, who hope voters tired of the attacks between Jackson and Jones will seek alternative candidates.
Among Democrats, Bottoms aims to secure her party’s nomination outright and prevent a runoff. She has received former President Joe Biden’s endorsement after working in his administration and is minimizing criticism of her single term leading Atlanta. As the only Black woman among Democratic candidates, she holds a potentially significant advantage in a state where Black women form the party’s foundation.
Three other leading Democrats hope to advance to a runoff. Duncan, as a former Republican, argues he can most effectively appeal to swing voters to help Democrats succeed. Thurmond campaigns on his extensive state government experience while Esteves claims he can create the “multiracial, multigenerational coalition” needed to win Georgia’s young and diverse voter base.
Four of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats are vacant, with Carter and Collins pursuing Senate bids, Republican Representative Barry Loudermilk retiring, and Democrat David Scott’s position becoming available after his April death.
Scott’s passing disrupted the race in the majority-Black 13th District covering Atlanta’s southern and eastern suburbs, which had previously focused on criticizing him as too elderly and frequently absent. Democratic candidates include state Representative Jasmine Clark, who has raised the most funds, and Gwinnett County school board Chair Everton Blair.
In the 11th District northwest of Atlanta, Loudermilk announced his retirement and backed staffer Rob Adkerson, who faces challenges from neurologist John Cowan and Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore.
In the 10th District east of Atlanta, state Representative Houston Gaines leads Republican candidates seeking to replace Collins. Jim Kingston, son of longtime Representative Jack Kingston, is the leading Republican contender for Carter’s seat in coastal Georgia’s 1st District.
In northeast Georgia’s 9th District, three-term Republican incumbent Andrew Clyde is working to defeat primary challengers former Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon and Hall County Commissioner Gregg Poole.
Tuesday also features general elections for Georgia judicial positions. While technically nonpartisan, eight of nine state Supreme Court justices received appointments from Republican governors. Democrats support former state Senator Jen Jordan challenging Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren and Miracle Rankin challenging Justice Charlie Bethel.
They anticipate strong Democratic participation could result in the first incumbent justice defeat since 1922. A third justice, Ben Land, runs unopposed for a six-year term.
The state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which examines judicial misconduct allegations, announced in Sunday statements that Jordan and Rankin violated judicial conduct rules by publicly supporting each other and making statements favoring abortion rights restoration.
The commission indicated it reached these preliminary conclusions after receiving and reviewing complaints about each candidate.
State Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey characterized the commission’s statements as “a cynical attempt by a mere bureaucratic arm of the Georgia Republican establishment to hide the truth about this race from Georgia voters.”
