The 2026 Georgia ballot will include a lengthy list of statewide and local races  

ALBANY – For the first time in two Georgia gubernatorial races, a span of eight years, Brian Kemp’s name won’t be at the top of constitutional officers up for election on the state’s ballot.

Georgia’s Constitution limits the governor to two consecutive terms, prohibiting a popular governor from seeking a third term.

For three other top constitutional officers in the state, their time in office will come to an end in January after they made unsuccessful bids for the top state job, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who lost the primary runoff in his bid for governor and won’t be on the ballot after four years in his current office.

The same is true for Attorney General Chris Carr, who won elections in 2016 and 2020 after being appointed to the position in 2016 by former Gov. Nathan Deal. He also made a bid for governor this year.

A third 2026 gubernatorial candidate, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, also will be leaving the office he’s held since 2019. 

So who are the new kids on the block? That would be political newcomer Rick Jackson, who vanquished Carr, Jones and Raffensperger on his way to the Republican nomination. He will face off against former Atlanta Mayor and City Council member Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee.

Having so many elections for some of the top jobs without an incumbent in the mix is a rarity, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said. The last time a state ballot was comparable to the number of top races that feature no incumbents was nearly three decades ago.

“This is literally a generational election,” Bullock said. “The closest thing to this was 1998.”

Incumbents generally have advantages like name recognition and that “i” sitting to the left of their name on the ballot.  Incumbency also means that voters liked that candidate enough to have elected them two or four years ago, Bullock said.

“An open seat is kind of a jump ball,” he said.

For Democrats, that could create opportunities in a state where the party is 0-for-a-lot over the last nearly three decades, the veteran political scientist said.

“What would be really significant is if Democrats win any of the constitutional offices,” he said. “It would be the first time since 1998 that a non-incumbent Democrat has won a constitutional office.”

Moving down from the governor’s race, the candidates seeking to replace Jones as lieutenant governor are Republican Greg Dolezal and Democrat Josh McLaurin. The candidates for secretary of state to replace Raffensperger are Republican Tim Fleming and Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds.

Tanya Miller, the Democratic nominee, and Republican Brian Strickland are the nominees in the attorney general’s race.

Incumbents will start appearing on the ballot for constitutional offices with Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, whose opponent is Democrat Katahering E. Juhan-Arnold. Another incumbent, Republican Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John King, will face Keisha Sean Waites, the Democratic nominee, and Libertarian Colin McKinney.

State School Superintendent Richard Woods, also an incumbent, is the Republican nominee. He will oppose Democratic candidate Lydia Powell.

Albanian Barbara Rivera Holmes, the incumbent Labor commissioner who was appointed in April 2025 to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner Bruce Thompson, who died in November 2024, is seeking to be elected to the position against Democrat Nikki Porcher.

The District 3 Public Service race presents a twist as the incumbent Democrat, Peter Hubbard, will face Fitz Johnson, the Republican who formerly held the post, before he lost to Hubbard in a special election in November 2025. 

In PSC District 5, the candidates are Democrat Shelia Edwards, Republican Josh Tolbert and Libertarian Thomas Blooming. The position currently is held by Republican Tricia Pridemore, who announced her resignation on Aug. 18.

Among the PSC’s responsibilities are setting rates for privately owned utility companies like Georgia Power and for natural gas providers that operate in the state.

Among the most-watched political contests in the state in 2026 also will have nationwide attention. The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins could be one that decides which party has control of the Senate in 2027. Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley also will be on the ballot.

Ossoff won in his first bid for the Senate in 2020 with a narrow victory over Republican incumbent David Perdue by a margin of about 55,000 votes in a contest in which nearly 4.5 million ballots were cast. Collins was elected to represent U.S. House District 10 in 2022.

Closer to home, all of the three Georgia Republican House of Representatives candidates who represent a portion of Dougherty County are on the ballot seeking re-election.

In House District 151, Rep. Mike Cheokas will face both a Democratic opponent, Ethan Wolfe, and independent candidate Travis Lockhart. Incumbent state Rep. Bill Yearta and Democrat Mitchell Rosa are the candidates in District 152.

Republican Gerald Greene, currently the longest-serving House member in the state, will face former Dougherty County Commissioner Harry James in District 154.

Incumbent Democrat David Sampson has no opposition in House District 153. 

The same is true for Edward Brown, who won the April Democratic primary in Senate District 12. A Superior Court judge recently ruled in Brown’s favor in a residency challenge from Corey Morgan, who finished second in the primary. Republican Terence Fowler was ruled ineligible to be on the ballot after a residency challenge prior to the primary election.

In Lee County, the candidates for County Commission District 1 are Republican Susan Smith and Democrat William Simmons. District 3 Republican incumbent Billy Mathis does not have an opponent.