# 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election

Elections in Georgia :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1788–89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
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1820
1824
1828
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Presidential primaries
Democratic
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2004
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2024
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U.S. Senate elections
1789
1792
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1794
1795
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1800
1804
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1996
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2004
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2014
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2020–21
2020–21 sp
2022
2026
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U.S. House elections
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1976
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1994
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2006
4
2008
2010
2012
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2018
2020
2022
2024
Special elections
Senate
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1821
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1845
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1894
1907
1911
1914
1922
1932
1972
2000
2020
House
At-large
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1806
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1824
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1844
1st
1792
1827
1879
1906
1931
2nd
1827
1910
1913
1953
3rd
1846
1896
1932
4th
1871
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1918
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5th
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1977
2020
6th
1870
1932
1999
2017
7th
1958
1983
8th
1873
1882
1917
1940
9th
1875
1877
2010
10th
1895
1933
2007 :
State government
State elections
2000
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1825
1827
1829
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1871 (sp)
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1883 (sp)
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1994
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2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
1946
1948
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
2014
2018
2022
State Senate elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
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2022
2024
Judicial elections
2024
Special elections
Governor
1871
1883
1948 :
Ballot measures
2004
Flag referendum
Amendment 1
2020
Amendment 1
Amendment 2
Tax referendum :
Atlanta
City elections
2009
Mayoral elections
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Savannah
Mayoral elections
2015
2019
2023 :
Mableton
Mayoral elections
2023 :
vte :
The 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Georgia. Incumbent Republican governor Brian Kemp is ineligible for a third term as per the Georgia Constitution.

## Background

Though Georgia is currently a purple state at the federal level (having voted very close to the nation as a whole in Donald Trump's 2024 win, with Georgia voting for Trump by 2.2% while having two Democratic Senators), it continues to maintain a slight to moderate red lean at the state level, with Republicans holding all state seats between 5-10% in the 2022 midterms despite the year overall being somewhat favorable to Democrats, in which Governor Brian Kemp was re-elected against Democrat Stacey Abrams by 7.5% and with 53.4% of the vote, a considerable increase from his 1.3-point victory against Abrams four years earlier. Republicans also control both houses of the Georgia Legislature.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Chris Carr, Georgia Attorney General (2016–present)

#### Publicly expressed interest

* Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. representative from Georgia's 14th congressional district (2021–present)
* Burt Jones, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia (2023–present) (decision expected after the 2025 legislative session)

#### Potential

* Buddy Carter, U.S. Representative from Georgia's 1st congressional district (2015–present)
* Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State (2019–present)

#### Declined

* Andrew Clyde, U.S. representative from Georgia's 9th congressional district (2021–present) (running for re-election)

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Chris Carr | Burt Jones | Undecided |
| 20/20 Insight | September 25–28, 2023 | 245 (LV) | ± 6.3% | 9% | 18% | 73% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Olujimi Brown, church founder

#### Formed exploratory committee

* Lucy McBath, U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district (2019–present)

#### Publicly expressed interest

* Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight Action, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives (2011–2017), and nominee for governor in 2018 and 2022
* Keisha Lance Bottoms, former director of the Office of Public Engagement (2022–2023) and former mayor of Atlanta (2018–2022)
* Jason Carter, former state senator (2010–2015), grandson of former governor and president Jimmy Carter, and nominee for governor in 2014

#### Potential

* Jason Esteves, state senator from the 6th district (2023–present)
* Michael Thurmond, DeKalb County CEO

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Stacey Abrams | Other | Undecided |
| 20/20 Insight | September 25–28, 2023 | 247 (LV) | ± 6.2% | 52% | 34% | 14% |

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | January 23, 2025 |
| Inside Elections | Battleground | February 6, 2025 |