Democrats want to flip the Georgia Legislature. The primary offers a preview.
Georgia Democrats are hoping to chip away at Republican control in the state Legislature this year. But first, they must settle on the candidates who will lead the charge.
Both parties hope to fine-tune their messaging and gather critical information about voter turnout during the May 19 primary.
Each of the Legislature’s 236 seats is up for election every two years. It takes 91 seats to hold a majority in the House and 29 in the Senate. As of April, Republicans control 99 seats in the House and 33 seats in the Senate.
Republicans have controlled the Georgia Legislature for about two decades. Democrats must take 10 seats to gain control of the House and seven in the Senate. Both are unlikely to happen this year. Democrats are focusing on holding key swing districts while trying to flip seats that Republicans narrowly won in recent elections.
In 2018, the last midterm election cycle conducted during a Trump presidency, Georgia Democrats gained 11 seats in the House and two in the Senate. This year, Trump’s approval ratings are low, hovering around 40%.
The stakes are high. The majority party sets the agenda on issues including abortion, elections, guns and taxes.
State Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, is optimistic about Democrats’ chances in the midterms. She said even if Democrats can’t flip the Senate, at least they can narrow the gap.
“We may not get to the majority, but we’ll get close enough that they can’t afford to get the flu,” said Jackson.
House races
Some of the most competitive seats in November won’t have any drama in May. Former Democratic state Rep. Farooq Mughal is running to reclaim his old seat in House District 105 after Republican Sandy Donatucci ousted him last year by just 80 votes. Both are running unopposed in the primary for the district in eastern Gwinnett County.
Republican Eric Wilson is unopposed in the Republican primary for House District 145 in Macon, setting up a November showdown with Democratic state Rep. Tangie Herring, who won her seat in 2024 by just 273 votes.
In other competitive seats, Democrats have some decisions to make. In Duluth, Michelle Kang wants another chance to oust Republican state Rep. Matt Reeves after falling short last year by just 621 votes. But she faces a challenge from political newcomer Shelly Abraham, whose campaign slogan is “vote for a fighter, not a folder.”
In Middle Georgia, Democrats Tyrone Evans and Rameriz Lewis are vying for a chance to replace Democratic state Rep. Mack Jackson, who won by fewer than 50 votes last year and is not seeking reelection. The winner will face Republican Trey Sheppard in November in House District 128.
“If we continue the momentum that we’ve seen all across the country, we can very well make this year the year for the Georgia House Democrats,” House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley said.
Republicans aren’t convinced.
“We have heard that same line for many, many cycles now and House Republicans are equally excited about our opportunities to go on the offense in currently Democratically held seats,” said Carmen Bergman, director of the House Republican Caucus.
Senate races
The GOP holds a stronger grip over the state Senate. Democrats would need to flip several seats that the GOP won handily in 2024.
The closest could be in District 48, where Republican Sen. Shawn Still won reelection in 2024 despite heavy criticism from Democrats over his indictment by a Fulton County grand jury after he signed an election certificate falsely declaring Trump won the 2020 election.
Still won the district — which covers parts of Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties — by just over 7 percentage points in a year that Trump was on the ballot and won Georgia. This year, Trump isn’t on the ballot. And Still is no longer under indictment after a judge dismissed the case. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Two Democrats are vying to challenge him. Nathan Hombroek is a Georgia Tech graduate who works in AI consulting. Laura Murvartian has political experience, as she played a big role in Democrats’ 2024 plans by challenging state Rep. Scott Hilton. But she ended up losing to the Sandy Springs Republican by nearly 10 percentage points.
Another race to watch is District 7. The Gwinnett County-based district is safely Democratic. But it’s the scene of a bitter primary after Nabilah Parkes resigned the seat last month to run for lieutenant governor.
That prompted state Rep. Ruwa Romman to abandon her campaign for governor to run for Parkes’ seat. But that irked the two other Democrats who were already in the race: Rahul Garabadu and Astrid Ross.
In an unusual move, Romman is not running in the special election to fulfill the remainder of Parkes’ term. She’s running for the full term that begins in January.
About the Author
Caleb Groves is a general assignment reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's politics team and a Kennesaw State University graduate.
