Georgia voters swept in Democrats for one reason. Fix affordability.
Two days before the Nov. 3 election, the AJC editorial board warned against outside meddling and called on candidates, observers and federal election monitors to respect Georgia voters’ choices and final results.
Thankfully, Tuesday’s race lacked any of that drama. Instead, local, state and federal authorities worked together, operated within the bounds of our laws and respected the people’s will.
Tuesday’s races brought stunning change. With it came something perhaps more important — a return to the civility that honors our traditions and represents the best of America.
In the governor’s race, Republican Rick Jackson conceded and graciously called Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms to offer his congratulations. He then encouraged his supporters to pray for Bottoms as she prepares to take the state’s top job.
Gov. Brian Kemp agreed to an orderly transfer of power and rejected an anticipated special legislative session to curtail his successor’s authority.
Duty to country, as expressed by Jackson and Kemp’s actions, should be the rule and not the exception. We must make democratic norms great and commonplace again.
The era of election denialism is over.
Citizens voted to rebuke Trump, plain and simple
Nearly 4.2 million Georgians voted Tuesday — a 7.6% increase from the 2022 midterms. Such engagement is worth celebrating.
The Peach State elected the nation’s first Black female governor in Bottoms, who also became the first Democrat selected for the post since 1998.
A “blue tsunami” resulted in Democrats sweeping every single statewide post from U.S. senator to public service commissioner.
Make no mistake though, the wave driving change across the nation that flipped the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from red to blue was not about voters rewarding the Democratic Party.
Voters rebuked the Trump administration because of displeasure with affordability, tariffs and the war on Iran that have raised gas, grocery and healthcare costs. On Iran, the administration broke its promise to avoid foreign military entanglements.
Democrats have been granted the great responsibility of charting a new path forward. That’s not just holding the Trump administration accountable, but it’s about striving to find consensus and compromise to solve the people’s problems.
Voters want Georgia leaders to solve problems
In Georgia, there will be divided government — a Democratic governor and a Democratic state House along with a slight Republican edge in the Senate to be presided over next year by Democratic Lt. Gov.-elect Josh McLaurin.
It will be important for leaders to work together to solve those affordability issues that are making life hard for too many Georgians.
Although there was speculation that Kemp might call a special session to curb Bottoms’ power and redraw congressional and legislative maps in 2028, he wisely chose against it the day after the election.
“The voters of our state have spoken,” Kemp said. “As long as I’m governor, we will always respect the results of secure, accessible, and fair elections, and also abide by the laws and constitution of our state.”
Many Georgians disagreed with Kemp’s earlier redistricting efforts in a special legislative session he called in June, which resulted in no action. Nonetheless, his decision to respect the outcome of this election deserves recognition.
Kemp abided by the people’s will and that is one of the most important decisions of his tenure.
Notably, Kemp also respected the people’s will in 2020 when a majority of Georgians backed Joe Biden over Trump in that year’s presidential election.
Despite Trump’s pressure campaign and unsuccessful opposition to Kemp’s 2022 reelection campaign, the governor never buckled.
As a result, 70% of respondents surveyed in a 2026 AJC poll approve of his performance.
Could he have broken through the blue wave if he had been on the ballot this year? That’s impossible to tell, but it is the right thing for him to ensure a civil, peaceful and just handover of power to Bottoms.
Georgia may have swung blue, but it is likely still an evenly divided state. Disagreements are normal and to be expected, but they should eventually lead to debates that will better the lives of everyday Georgians.
Democrats will learn that if they don’t keep that in mind, they will risk allowing the pendulum to swing back to Republicans in 2028.
At the end of the day, this is all about respecting the will of the people.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Opinion Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial on behalf of and in consultation with the AJC Editorial Board, which comprises President and Publisher Paul J. Curran Jr., Editor-in-Chief Leroy Chapman Jr., Standards Head Samira Jafari and David Plazas.
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