Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) and Rick Jackson (R) are running for Governor of Georgia in the November 3, 2026, general election.

Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is term-limited. The last Democrat elected governor was Roy Barnes in 1998. Independent election forecasters rated the general election Toss-up/Tilt Republican.

Bottoms was the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022. She was also a senior advisor to former President Joe Biden (D) and a member of the Atlanta City Council. According to her campaign website, Bottoms ran for governor "to deliver for working families and bring steady leadership to Georgia in the midst of uncertainty and chaos coming from Washington."

Bottoms is campaigning on Medicaid expansion, lowering costs, and education, saying people "want to hear how we are going to address these everyday issues that are impacting their lives: cost of living, access or lack thereof to healthcare, education, access to jobs." On healthcare specifically, Bottoms said: "It’s the difference between life and death for so many people — when you can’t get to a hospital, when you can access medical care, when you can’t see a doctor when you’re in need." Her campaign website says she "will lower health care costs for everyone by expanding Medicaid, ending the failed Georgia Pathways program, and replacing it with real coverage that actually works for families."

Jackson is the founder and chief executive of Jackson Healthcare, a healthcare staffing and services company. His campaign website describes him as "a Georgia businessman, philanthropist, and conservative outsider running for Governor because he believes results matter more than rhetoric — and Georgia’s future depends on action, not talk."

Jackson is running on tax cuts, border security, and his outsider business background, saying: "Georgia needs an outsider — not a career politician — who will cut taxes, lower costs, secure the state, and make government work for the people," and that as governor he will "make Georgia the most affordable state in America by freezing property taxes, cutting the state income tax, eliminating wasteful spending, and raising standards in government and education." On healthcare, Jackson said, "I’m the only candidate in this race who actually understands healthcare costs. I‘ve spent my life in it — I know where the costs are, I know where the wastes are, I know how the system works, and I know how it fails families."

On June 23, 2026, Bottoms proposed a series of debates with Jackson, stating, "I look forward to continuing to share my vision for Georgia on the debate stage, and I call on Rick Jackson to join me. There's a clear choice for Georgians in this race: I'll fight for Georgians to lower costs and build a brighter future, while Rick Jackson will only fight to line his own pockets. Let's debate!" On June 26, 2026, Jackson said in an interview on The Shelley Wynter Show, "Of course, I'll debate her. ... I look forward to it. I think there's a clear choice and difference. She talks about some things that are, I call them bumper stickers, like we got to help healthcare and affordability and all that. I'm going to be talking about how to do that. ... The difference is I'm a businessperson, and I have specific ideas on exactly how I'm going to do it."

Georgia has had a Republican trifecta since 2005, and along with the governorship, the legislature is up for election in 2026. Democrats could break the trifecta by winning the governor's race or a legislative chamber. Republicans could retain the trifecta by winning the governor's race and maintaining majorities in both legislative chambers.