GA Primary 2026: Voters To Decide Noms For Several State Races

Election Day is Tuesday and party nominations will soon be decided in Georgia.

The polls in the Georgia primary open at 7 a.m. Residents must be in line by 7 p.m. to vote, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.

Candidates must clear the required 50 percent plus one vote threshold to avoid a runoff in the primary. If there is a runoff, it will be held on June 16.

This year's election will slide new faces into some of the state's most powerful positions, including governor. Georgia will also see a new secretary of state, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

The primary will also show which of the five Republican candidates for U.S. Senate will move on to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia.

During early voting, 671,739 ballots had been accepted as of Wednesday, according to data from the Secretary of State's office. Democratic turnout outweighed that of the Republicans in the final days of early voting.

Georgia voters can check the Secretary of State's website for races on the ballot in their city.

Voters should go to the My Voter Page to determine if they are eligible to vote and to find their polling place and early voting locations. Voters can also confirm their addresses are up to date and view sample ballots.

A runoff election will be June 16, if necessary. Absentee ballot applications will be accepted through June 5 for the runoff.

Georgia's law requires photo ID while voting — either in-person or absentee.

The following identifications are accepted for voting, according to the Secretary of State's office:

• Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services
• A Georgia driver's license, even if expired
• Student ID from a Georgia public college or university
• Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state
• Valid U.S. passport ID
• Valid U.S. military photo ID containing a photograph of the voter
• Valid tribal photo ID containing a photograph of the voter

Here are some of your state and federal candidates:

Governor

(Democrat)

• Michael Thurmond, former labor commissioner and DeKalb County CEO
• Geoff Duncan, former lieutenant governor
• Keisha Lance Bottoms, former White House aide and former Atlanta mayor
• Jason Esteves, attorney and former state senator
• Olu Brown, pastor
• Derrick Jackson, state representative
• Amanda Duffy, former accounting employee

(Republican)

• Tom Williams, former Air Force software and electronics worker
• Rick Jackson, health-care executive and philanthropist
• Chris Carr, attorney general
• Ken Yasger, Army veteran
• Gregg Kirkpatrick, high-tech entrepreneur
• Burt Jones, lieutenant governor
• Clark Dean, businessman
• Brad Raffensperger, secretary of state

Secretary of State

(Democrat)

• Cam Ashling
• Penny Brown Reynolds
• Adrian Consonery
• Dana Barrett

(Republican)

• Ted Metz
• Gabriel Sterling
• Vernon Jones
• Tim Fleming
• Kelvin King

Attorney General

(Democrat)

• Bob Trammell
• Tanya Miller

(Republican)

• Brian Strickland
• Bill Cowsert

Lieutenant Governor

(Democrat)

• Richard Wright
• Nabilah Parkes
• Josh McLaurin

(Republican)

• Brenda Nelson-Porter
• Greg Dolezal
• David Clark
• John Kennedy
• Blake Tillery
• Steve Gooch
• Takosha Swan

U.S. Senate

(Democrat)

• Jon Ossoff (incumbent)

(Republican)

• Mike Collins
• Buddy Carter
• John Coyne
• Jonathan McColumn
• Derek Dooley

RELATED:

• Georgia Primary 2026: Race For Governor Packed With 15 Hopefuls
• Early Voting For GA Primary 2026 Begins: What To Know