Georgia governor’s race: Who’s running in 2026 & where they stand on key issues – Atlanta News First

Georgia governor’s race: Who’s running in 2026 & where they stand on key issues  Atlanta News First

A former Atlanta mayor and a businessman outsider face off for Georgia governor’s seat (Editor’s note: The video above is from the only debate conducted between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson. It was hosted by Atlanta News First and broadcast statewide across all of Gray Media’s Georgia stations.) ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Georgia voters will choose the state’s next governor in the Nov. 3 midterm election. The governor is the state’s top executive – overseeing state agencies, proposing the state budget, signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature, and calling special sessions when needed. Two challengers are seeking the open seat: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson.

Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, served as the city’s 60th mayor from 2018 to 2022, a term that spanned the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd. Born and raised in Atlanta, Bottoms attended Atlanta Public Schools before earning her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University and her law degree from Georgia State University, according to her campaign biography. Before entering elected office, she worked as a prosecutor in Atlanta in the 1990s, represented children in juvenile court, and became a magistrate judge in 2002. She was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 2009 to represent District 11 and was