Georgia will host competitive senate and governor elections in November, but the most competitive primaries will be Republican contests for governor and secretary of state and the Democratic primary in the 7th Congressional District.
The Republican primary for Georgia governor is one of the most high-profile races testing the power of former President Trump’s endorsement.
These are the races to watch:
Gov. Brian Kemp, left, and former Sen. David Perdue, right. (Getty Images)
Race: Governor (GOP)
Key candidates: Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue Snapshot: Gov. Brian Kemp became one of Trump’s top targets this election cycle after Kemp certified President Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia. Trump endorsed former Sen. David Perdue in February, and Perdue has blamed his 2021 Senate runoff loss to now-Sen. Jon Ossoff on Kemp. Recent polling has shown Kemp with a significant lead over his challengers. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is uncontested in her primary and who lost the 2018 governor’s race to Kemp by less than 2 percentage points.
Brad Raffensperger, left, and Rep. Jody Hice, right. (AP/Getty Images)
Race: Secretary of State (GOP)
Key candidates: Brian Raffensperger and Rep. Jody Hice Snapshot: Current Georgia Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger became a national name when he refused Trump’s demand to “find” votes to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. He’s being challenged by Trump-endorsed Rep. Jody Hice who has embraced the former president’s lies about the election results. The 2020 election has been one of the biggest issues in the secretary of state campaign. At a May debate, Raffensperger said Hice has “been spreading misinformation” while Hice said Raffensperger opened “the door for election fraud in this state.”
Race: Georgia's 7th Congressional District (Democratic)
Key candidates: Rep. Lucy McBath and Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux Snapshot: Georgia will host the first Democratic member vs. member primary with Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux running in the new 7th Congressional District. Both Democrats flipped suburban districts in their respective first elections (McBath in 2018 and Bourdeaux in 2020). While most of the new congressional district includes residents Bourdeaux represented, McBath has been able to outraise and outspend the first-term member. McBath became active in the gun control movement after her son was fatally shot in 2012 and since being elected, she’s become one of her caucus’s foremost voices on the issue. Prior to her election, Bourdeaux was a professor at Georgia State University and was the director for the Georgia state Senate Budget and Evaluation Office between 2007 and 2010.
Poll times: Polls opened at 7 a.m. ET and close at 7 p.m. ET.
Voter eligibility: The deadline to register to vote was April 25. Any registered voter can vote by mail or vote early in person. Voters had to submit their mail-in ballot request by May 13 and must return their ballot to the county board of elections by the close of polls on Election Day. Early in-person voting ran May 2 to May 20. Georgia doesn't have party registration, so registered voters can choose which primary to vote in.
Ballot count: If no candidate in a race gets 50%+1 vote the top two finishers advance to a runoff on June 21. Georgia election officials can begin counting early ballots on Election Day before polls close. Mail ballots and early in-person ballots can be processed prior to Election Day. Each county determines whether it will report Election Day or early votes first.
See how redistricting has shifted voting power in the state:
All rights reserved for this news site cnn and under his responsibility
