“It’s really an exciting, competitive contest,” University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said. “It’s not a bunch of incumbents running for election. It’s really up for grabs.”

The field is still fluid. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is weighing a bid. Abrams could mount a third campaign for governor. Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is exploring a run as a Democrat.

But clear dynamics are taking shape. The GOP Senate contest is becoming two overlapping races: One for conservative support, another for President Donald Trump’s blessing. The fight for governor is already becoming a clash over political identity.

Governor

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms

The former Atlanta mayor stunned supporters with her surprise decision not to run for a second term in 2021 amid the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and racial justice protests that rattled the city’s economy and fueled violence on the streets. But she always hinted at a return to public office, a comeback that began when President Joe Biden considered her as a potential running mate — and then made her a top adviser in his administration. Her divisive tenure as mayor is already fodder for attacks from both parties, with critics citing her decision to bow out and the spike in violent crime during her term. Bottoms says her record guiding the city proves she can deliver for Georgia — and that she’s not afraid to confront Trump.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Democrat Jason Esteves

The second-term state senator from Atlanta traces his path to politics to a stint as a middle school social studies teacher, where he says he saw hardworking students held back because of where they lived. He earned his law degree and won a spot on the Atlanta Public Schools board, chairing it from 2018 to 2021. Elected to the Georgia Senate the following year, Esteves emerged as one of his party’s leading voices on education, abortion rights and Medicaid expansion. Republicans are already branding him an out-of-touch liberal, and he faces questions about whether he can overcome better-known rivals. But he’s locked up support from key Democratic leaders and leads the field in early fundraising.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Democrat Derrick Jackson

A U.S. Navy veteran who spent 22 years in uniform, Jackson was first elected to the Georgia House in 2016. He ran for lieutenant governor in 2022, finishing sixth in the Democratic primary, before winning back a House seat in a 2023 special election. He later lost a bid for House minority leader. The long shot candidate says his decades of service — along with raising a blended family of seven adult children — shape his focus on improving quality of life for Georgia families.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Democrat Michael Thurmond

The son of Athens sharecroppers, Thurmond rose from early defeats to become the first Black legislator to represent Athens-Clarke County since Reconstruction. After a failed bid for Congress, he led the state Division of Family and Children Services and served three terms as labor commissioner. Following a lopsided defeat in a 2010 U.S. Senate run, Thurmond was tapped to stabilize DeKalb County’s school system as superintendent before winning two terms as the deep-blue county’s CEO. Thurmond says his long record in public service proves he can take on tough jobs, though he faces rivals with deeper fundraising networks and a more combative approach toward Trump.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Republican Chris Carr

The first major candidate from either party to enter the race, Carr announced in November 2024 to get a fundraising head start over his rivals. His path to public office started when he served as a top aide to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, then as economic development commissioner under Gov. Nathan Deal before his 2016 appointment as attorney general. He has since twice won reelection, most recently over a Trump-backed challenger. He’s worked to counter criticism he’s not MAGA enough by pointing to his record cracking down on gangs and defending Georgia’s anti-abortion law, while also making four visits to the White House since Trump’s return to power.

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Republican Burt Jones

First elected to the Georgia Senate in 2012, Jones hardly hid ambitions he would eventually run for higher office. With Trump’s endorsement, he won the 2022 race for lieutenant governor and has worked alongside Kemp on major legislation while carving out his own path on issues like Buckhead cityhood and hospital regulations. The scion of a family-run petroleum and insurance empire, he entered the race for governor in July with a $10 million self-loan, a combative Trump-style approach, an embrace of culture wars fights — and hopes of securing another endorsement from the president. His critics accuse him of trying to buy the nomination and of questionable ethics.

Senate

Credit: Sarah Peacock for the AJC

Credit: Sarah Peacock for the AJC

Democrat Jon Ossoff

The first-term lawmaker is a political paradox. He’s the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent on the 2026 map and yet one of his party’s strongest campaigners. Armed with more than $15 million in the bank and the ability to raise many times that, Ossoff proved his political chops in a 2017 special election that nearly flipped a Republican-held U.S. House seat. He followed that loss up with a 2021 runoff victory over incumbent David Perdue — a win that helped deliver Democrats control of the U.S. Senate. The first Jewish U.S. senator in Georgia history, Ossoff has worked to energize Democratic voters while courting moderates uneasy with Trump’s agenda. He’s made public health a cornerstone of his campaign, attacking Trump’s cuts to federal health agencies, and has cast himself as a Washington watchdog. Republicans are working to define him as too “woke” for Georgia. And he’s facing backlash from some Jewish voters upset over his support for failed measures to restrict U.S. aid to Israel.

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Republican Buddy Carter

A six-term congressman, Carter entered the race in May branding himself as a “MAGA warrior” aiming to earn a Trump endorsement. Though he’s not a household name statewide, the Savannah-area pharmacist is wealthy enough to self-finance, and has already poured millions into the race. He appeals to Republicans as a bootstrapping business owner who built his political career from the ground up, starting as a small-town mayor before winning a seat in the Legislature and then Congress. Still, he faces a steep climb breaking into the metro Atlanta market from his coastal Georgia base — and countering rivals who paint him as inauthentic.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Republican Mike Collins

Collins won his deep-red northeast Georgia seat in 2022 after defeating a Trump-backed rival in a bruising runoff. Since arriving in Washington, the son of the late U.S. Rep. Mac Collins has built a reputation as both a political brawler and a legislative workhorse, sponsoring bills signed by both Trump and Biden. Collins may be best known, though, for fiery memes and culture war broadsides on social media that earned him a rabid conservative following — but drawn accusations of racism and xenophobia from critics. His campaign may hinge on whether he wins Trump’s endorsement, but he’s simultaneously building a fundraising machine to compete with Kemp’s favored candidate.

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Republican Derek Dooley

When word leaked that Kemp was searching for a consensus candidate to unify the party, few guessed he would land on a former Tennessee football coach with zero political experience. But the governor is all-in for Dooley, who said his frustration with Ossoff’s policies spurred him to run. Dooley’s name carries weight — he’s the son of legendary UGA coach Vince Dooley — but he’s far better known for his football resume than a political one. Before he jumped in the race, he’d taken no public stances on political debates, has no deep ties to Trump and failed to vote in some recent elections. Still, Kemp is betting that Dooley’s blank-slate image could rally Republicans and sway swing voters. And he’s deploying the full might of his political machine to back him.