Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat, announced a run for governor Monday. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
The 2026 race for Georgia governor is shaping up with candidates from both parties now entering the race.
Gov. Brian Kemp cannot run for a third term, leaving the keys to the governor性视界传媒檚 mansion up for grabs.
Meet the declared candidates
Democratic Atlanta Sen. Jason Esteves announced his candidacy Monday with an introduction video highlighting his experience, including as a former teacher and chair of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education. In the video, titled 性视界传媒淯nderdog,性视界传媒 Esteves took aim at what he characterized as radical Republicans in the state government following the lead of President Donald Trump.
性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檝e had enough of families working harder than ever but still struggling and our kids falling behind instead of getting ahead,性视界传媒 Esteves said in his announcement video titled 性视界传媒淯nderdog.性视界传媒 性视界传媒淵et extreme politicians in Georgia push 罢谤耻尘辫性视界传媒檚 reckless agenda, rig the system for special interests and stick us with the bill.性视界传媒
As Esteves read these lines, the screen flashed with images of Trump, Kemp, Lt. Gov Burt Jones and Esteves性视界传媒 only announced Republican candidate, Attorney General Chris Carr, who became the first to throw his hat in the ring in November.
Carr性视界传媒檚 campaign has highlighted his experience in law enforcement, especially operations targeting immigrants, gang members and human traffickers.
性视界传媒淔or decades, we性视界传媒檝e been the best place to live, work, raise a family and build a business,性视界传媒 Carr said in his introductory video, 性视界传媒淜eep Georgia Strong. 性视界传媒淭hat hasn性视界传媒檛 happened by chance. It性视界传媒檚 happened because we性视界传媒檝e had leaders who are willing to make tough decisions, put Georgians first and stood strong in the face of adversity. Progressive activists are trying to radically transform our values and our economy. As your attorney general, I性视界传媒檝e made it my mission to keep Georgia safe.性视界传媒
Carr been a supporter of second-term , but their relationship hasn性视界传媒檛 always been chummy. In 2022, Trump called Carr 性视界传媒渁 disaster every step of the way性视界传媒 and backed a primary challenge against him after Carr declined to investigate 罢谤耻尘辫性视界传媒檚 baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in Georgia性视界传媒檚 2020 election.
Meet the maybe candidates
Lt. Gov. Jones, a Republican who is widely considered likely to enter the governor性视界传媒檚 race, is considered a more steadfast Trump ally 性视界传媒 Jones was one of Georgia性视界传媒檚 so-called fake electors, who met at the state Capitol in 2020 to cast votes for Trump even after his loss to Joe Biden was officially certified.
Jones性视界传媒 closeness to the president could benefit him in a Republican primary, but it性视界传媒檚 less clear whether his tightness with Trump will help or hurt in a general race. How Trump shapes the race will likely depend on how Georgians性视界传媒 view the chief executive during the buildup to next year性视界传媒檚 election season.
性视界传媒淚f the economy goes bad, if inflation is up, if unemployment is up, then some of the luster may be taken off of Trump,性视界传媒 said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock. 性视界传媒淣ow, for the MAGA folks, it probably doesn性视界传媒檛 matter, but for the critical element of independents and, in the general election, of white, college-educated voters, if 罢谤耻尘辫性视界传媒檚 attractiveness has been substantially reduced, then that certainly works for the advantage of Democrats.性视界传媒
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another rumored but unconfirmed candidate, could also make a reasonable play as someone Trump-skeptical conservatives and independents could back.
Raffensperger was on the other end of the now-infamous 2021 in which Trump called on him to 性视界传媒渇ind性视界传媒 enough votes to overturn Georgia性视界传媒檚 2020 election. Raffensperger declined, earning the ire of Trump and many of his supporters.
Firebrand conservative Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is another member of the maybe column 性视界传媒 she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution性视界传媒檚 性视界传媒淧olitically Georgia性视界传媒 podcast back in February that she was open to either a run for the governorship or for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff性视界传媒檚 seat, which is also up in 2026.
On the Democratic side, one much-speculated candidate seems less likely to have her eyes on Kemp性视界传媒檚 job than she did last year.
Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath hasn性视界传媒檛 ruled out a run entirely, but she announced late last month that she was suspending her bid as she focuses on the health of her husband, who recently underwent surgery for cancer.
Former Atlanta Mayor and advisor to President Joe Biden Keisha Lance Bottoms early this month that she plans to run for governor.
Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has not ruled out a run 性视界传媒 and neither has former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who became a household name after narrowly losing to Kemp in 2018 and again by a wider margin in 2022.
A crowded Democratic primary could be just the thing to dash the Dems性视界传媒 dreams, Bullock said, if the intra-party attacks get too intense.
性视界传媒淚f they get into it, then a lot of money will be spent within the primary, and sooner or later, even though they may start out simply singing their own praises, there would be a tendency to go negative, especially if at least three serious candidates get into it so you have a run-off. That性视界传媒檚 when attacks really become strong.性视界传媒
The elephant in the room
Kemp is reportedly considering a run at Ossoff性视界传媒檚 seat.
Many Republicans would be thrilled to see Kemp性视界传媒檚 name on the ballot next to Ossoff性视界传媒檚 性视界传媒 Kemp enjoys relatively high approval ratings and has shown he can win statewide races in campaigns for governor and secretary of state.
But Kemp 性视界传媒 whose name has also been floated as a potential presidential candidate in the future 性视界传媒 may see moving to the Senate as a downgrade, Bullock said.
As governor, Kemp has sway over all aspects of state government, but he would be one of 100 in the Senate, and as a newly-elected senator, he性视界传媒檇 be too low on the seniority rankings to chair any important committees.
性视界传媒淗e性视界传媒檚 going to be far less visible in that role, the scope of his influence is going to be tiny compared to what he has now,性视界传媒 Bullock said. 性视界传媒淗e性视界传媒檚 not going to be living in a mansion, he性视界传媒檚 going to be living probably in an apartment, maybe in the Watergate building. He性视界传媒檚 not going to have an SUV and a state patrolman to drive him around.性视界传媒
Once Kemp makes a decision, expect plenty of dominoes to fall afterwards.
Georgia Fire and Insurance Commissioner John King has said he would consider a run for Senate if Kemp does not. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper has also the idea of running.
性视界传媒淐onceivably, virtually the entire hierarchy of statewide Republican officials could give up their current positions, which would be then just wildness in terms of primaries, probably on both sides, of candidates running for each of those statewide offices,性视界传媒 Bullock said. 性视界传媒淵ou may well clear out a large share of the state Senate and some of the state House. It may be if you show up January of 2027 at the Capitol, you may not recognize anybody because they性视界传媒檝e all run for something, cleared out the state Legislature. So this could be an extraordinary election cycle in Georgia.性视界传媒
