Lieutenant governor runoffs expose rifts in both parties
The run-up to the runoffs for lieutenant governor is shaping up to be a battle of style.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Greg Dolezal is doubling down on MAGA policies and red meat issues to offset former state Sen. John F. Kennedy’s campaign that leans on his experience in the Legislature.
And in the Democratic race, state Sen. Josh McLaurin and former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes are arguing over whether it’s best to work with the Republican lawmakers who hold the majority of seats or become their most vocal opponent.
Voters will return to make a choice in the races. None of the candidates succeeded in winning more than 50% in the May primary, setting the stage for the June 16 runoffs.
Whoever becomes the next lieutenant governor will control the Senate’s agenda and would assume the governor’s duties if needed. But Democrats also face the reality that if one of them succeeds in flipping the seat in November, GOP lawmakers will likely retaliate by stripping some of their powers.
Republicans split on tone and tactics
Dolezal and Kennedy are testing two competing theories in Republican politics.
Dolezal casts himself as a hard-line Republican who doesn’t shy away from controversy, while Kennedy spotlights his experience with a campaign focused on creating jobs, bolstering education and improving public safety.
The former Senate president pro tempore, Kennedy shepherded Gov. Brian Kemp’s legislation limiting civil jury awards in 2025 before resigning to focus on his bid for lieutenant governor.
“I want to keep Georgia growing. I want to keep good, pro-business policies very similar to what Gov. Kemp has done during his time,” Kennedy said.
Dolezal takes a different approach, with controversial messaging that’s drawn bipartisan backlash. One AI-generated ad depicts Muslims invading suburbia, including about half a dozen men in Middle Eastern dress firing guns in a neighborhood.
He’s since doubled down on Islamophobic messaging, airing another ad blowing up a cutout of a bearded man in Muslim headgear.
“Can we have people of the Muslim faith living in America? Of course you can,” Dolezal said in a recent interview. “But to the extent that it would become part of the governing philosophy of America, absolutely not.”
In the Legislature, Dolezal has championed issues aligned with President Donald Trump’s positions on transgender athletes and changes to Georgia’s voting system in the wake of the 2020 election.
In 2020, he joined a group of senators who sought to help Trump overturn the results of Georgia’s presidential election. He serves as vice chair of a Senate committee that is investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Despite their differences, both have said they’re able to work with House lawmakers and colleagues across the aisle and seek to lower taxes for Georgia families.
If elected, Kennedy said his reputation and experience in the Legislature will set the stage for “renewed discussions and a fresh look at how we get some property tax accomplished next year.”
Dolezal said you “build alliances based on ideas.”
Democrats differ on navigating GOP-majority
High-profile endorsements and bitter debate clashes have marked the final weeks of the runoff campaigns for the two Democratic lawmakers who argue they’re the best bet to flip the second-highest elected office in state government.
McLaurin and Parkes share common ground on Democratic policies — both pledging to force votes on top issues, like Medicaid expansion.
But they differ on how they’d use the Senate’s bully pulpit to push back against Republican legislators and Trump-backed initiatives that may arise.
McLaurin says his balance of negging Republican colleagues while also maintaining relationships across the aisle sets him up for better success in getting bipartisan bills passed.
He pointed to an amendment he sponsored last year on car-booting regulations that garnered support from Republicans after years of the issue of being shot down.
“I’ve never voted for Republican legislation that I disagreed with or sold out to Republicans just to get something,” McLaurin said. “Because I’m willing to form connections with them as people, they are willing to work with me and run with some of my ideas.”
But Parkes says the next lieutenant governor should be more aggressive in standing up to the majority party.
“We don’t need a candidate that coddles Republicans, like my opponent,” she said during the Atlanta Press Club runoff debate earlier this week. “We don’t need a candidate that goes along to get along, like my opponent.”
McLaurin launched his campaign in May 2025 and has most recently made headlines with endorsements from Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Parkes, a former party operative, has garnered the backing of Atlanta Democrats U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Willis.
Parkes initially announced she would run for insurance commissioner but made a last-minute switch during qualifying in March to run for lieutenant governor instead. She resigned from her seat in the state Senate for the rest of the legislative session to concentrate on the campaign.
McLaurin has slammed Parkes for the decision, especially with a looming special session where Republicans will lead an effort to redraw the state’s political maps in their favor.
“On June 17, we have a special session under the new Supreme Court decision that will determine the future of Black voting power in Georgia,” he said during the runoff debate. “I’m the only candidate in this race that will be there to fight.”
Parkes has hit back that she launched her bid after skepticism McLaurin could flip the seat.
“I made the determination to jump into this lieutenant governor’s race because we didn’t have a strong candidate running for this seat,” she said on the debate stage.
“I am putting together a real campaign to hold these Republicans accountable and flip the seat after 20 years.”
About the Authors
Caleb Groves is a general assignment reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's politics team and a Kennesaw State University graduate.
Riley Bunch is an enterprise reporter covering the impacts of politics and policy on everday Georgians.
