Some top contenders have emerged in the 2026 Georgia gubernatorial race on both sides of the aisle, although a high percentage of voters are undecided with more than six months until primary elections, new polling shows.
Democrat former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is leading a crowded field with 40 percent support among likely primary voters, according to the poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) conducted by the University of Georgia. Bottoms, who more recently worked as a senior advisor to the Harris-Walz Campaign, has a nearly 30-point advantage over her closest competitor, former DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond (D), at 11 percent.
Four other Democrat contenders are in single digits. Forty percent of likely Democrat primary voters are still undecided at this point, leaving a lot of room for tides to shift in the coming months as Democrats look to flip the governor’s seat for the first time in 20 years.
Likely Republican primary voters are even more uncertain about who they support, with 55 percent saying they are undecided.
Even so, President Donald Trump has made an early endorsement of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) in the race, giving him a lead at 22 percent over his next closest competitor, Georgia Secretary of State Michael Thurmond, who sits at 15 percent. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr came in third with 7 percent, according to the survey.
The state’s top Republicans are hoping to snag the seat after two terms of Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who is now ineligible to run for reelection.
The Georgia primary elections are on May 19, 2026. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of votes, the top two contenders will compete in a run-off race and the winner will face a candidate from the opposing party in the November 2026 general election.
The AJC Democratic Primary Poll was conducted with 1,000 likely Democrat primary voters from Oct. 13-21 with a ±3.1 percentage point margin of error. The AJC Republican Primary Poll was conducted with 1,000 likely Republican primary voters from Oct. 15-23 with a ±3.1 percentage point margin of error.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
