Countdown to midterm elections: Live updates from the Georgia campaign trail
Election Day is Nov. 3. Early voting ends Friday.
Georgia is in the final days leading up to the Nov. 3 midterm elections and most of the marquee races on the ballots are toss-ups.
Candidates for governor, Congress and every statewide office will be making speeches, knocking on doors and urging voters to show up.
Stay here through election night for the latest from the campaign trail with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s politics team.
Georgia Supremes put the lid on GOP purity tests
The Georgia Supreme Court this week upheld a lower court ruling finding that local party officials cannot decide who gets to run on their party banner.
The case stems from a dispute in Catoosa County between the local Republican Party and four county commission candidates who qualified as Republicans. Party activists wanted to kick them off as not Republican enough.
You can read more in today's Politically Georgia newsletter here.
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What comes next?
On Tuesday night, all eyes will be on the midterm results. But when the wins and losses are sorted, the focus will move to a possible special session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp called a special session in June and challenged GOP leaders to draw a new electoral map more favorable for the party. Leaders, including House Speaker Jon Burns, balked at the idea of giving Democrats such a tasty campaign issue.
But many anticipate that was just a delay and the outgoing governor may take another swing at it before the new year.
Read more about the changing political landscape here.
Why Obama is heading to a Democratic stronghold
Why is former President Barack Obama heading to deep-blue Clayton County, where Democrats are already expecting to win big? For the same reason President Donald Trump visited deep-red parts of Georgia where Republicans dominate.
Turnout.
Democrats are encouraged by strong early voting in left-leaning parts of the state. But turnout in the Democratic strongholds of Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties still lags behind the suburban counties surrounding Atlanta.
And Black voter participation is starting to dip after a strong start. Democrats hope Obama’s visit can help reverse that trend and give their candidates a boost in the final days of early voting.
Atlanta donors rally behind Bottoms at $575K fundraiser
Atlanta’s Democratic donor class is rallying behind Keisha Lance Bottoms in the final stretch of her campaign for governor.
A packed Tuesday night fundraiser at Flourish in Buckhead raised at least $575,000 for Bottoms, according to organizers. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger headlined the event.
The host committee was a who’s who of Atlanta Democratic politics, including Mayor Andre Dickens, former Mayor Shirley Franklin, longtime mover-and-shaker Sharon Gay and former state Sen. Jason Esteves, one of Bottoms' rivals in the Democratic primary.
The stretch run
It seemed like we would never get here, but the 2026 midterms are upon us.
With less than a week to go, candidates and surrogates will be frantically crisscrossing Georgia in a last attempt to turn out their base voters and convince the few undecideds.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will be following every twist and turn in the campaigns for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state — you get the picture.
Bookmark this page to follow the latest, beginning with an appearance Wednesday evening by former President Barack Obama in Clayton County. Obama is campaigning for Democratic nominee for governor and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Democrats hope Obama can fire up the base, particularly young and Black voters who tend to vote less frequently but are essential if the Democrats hope to win.
Obama's visit follows two Georgia appearances by President Donald Trump and comes a day ahead of a two-day swing by former Vice President Kamala Harris.