Next year’s U.S. Senate race is getting much of the attention lately, with Gov. Brian Kemp going rogue and pushing a vagabond football coach with a familiar Georgia name.
But the 2026 race to fill Governor Shotgun’s term-limited cowboy boots came into focus this week as President Donald Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Jones, a longtime Trump backer and participant in the 2020 Stop the Steal scheme, now dons the MAGA seal of approval and is likely the GOP front-runner. That is, if Trump and his daily assaults on the senses haven’t worn out even the Republicans by next May’s primaries.
Also, a Trump endorsement is not a sure thing. He backed an array of losers in 2022. Then again, three years in today’s politics is like 19 mood swings ago.
The fact that no incumbent governor is running in 2026 means a dinner bell has rung for the state’s most hungry and ambitious politicians.
Many a pol has daydreamed about easing into the governor’s chair. Entering the race is like playing the Lotto: Remember, you can’t win unless you’re in.
Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has played footsie with the Dems for years and, this month, finally said he’s one of them.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Now he’s toying with the idea of running for governor with a D after his name.
Jones, a former Bulldogs special teams kamikaze, went hard at Duncan, formerly a star pitcher at UGA’s rival, the North Avenue Trade School.
“Duncan is like a mediocre male athlete who switches genders hoping he can now medal for his new team,” Jones noted in his best GOP Mean Girl manner.
Trump’s endorsement no doubt dismayed state Attorney General Chris Carr, who perpetually looks like he is surprised.
Some wondered if Carr might run as independent. He’s a principled man who stood up to Trump in 2020 when democracy was wobbling. Back then, Carr refused to join in on a bogus lawsuit to throw out election results in states Trump lost.
So, will he try that strategy?
Nah.
He issued a press release: “Carr fights to restore records and titles of female athletes forced to compete against men.”
The Trans Wars are upon us. Again. They say generals often fight the last war. And candidates will wage the previous election.
Here’s a rundown of the crowded field:
Burt Jones: MAGA, MAGA, MAGA. The office of Lite Guv provides a platform that has catapulted the occupant to the top — Zell Miller. Also, not: See Mark Taylor and Casey Cagle.
Jones doesn’t come off as a deep thinker. But when has that hurt a pol in Georgia? Also, he has money — lots of it. One story noted he “bet on himself,” loaning his campaign $10 million. But that’s a snap when dad is among the state’s richest men.
Chris Carr: Has quietly occupied the attorney general’s office for two terms. He is trying to seem MAGA enough to somehow survive the primary but not crazy enough to scare off independents and conservative Democrats if the Dems roll out a Leftie. Good luck with that.
Brad Raffensperger: The Wall Street Journal recently featured him in a story, “No Longer ‘Dead Brad Walking’: Georgia’s Election Chief Makes a Comeback.” A run for governor is in the offing. As secretary of state, he famously stood up to Trump when he wanted him to “find” more votes after the 2020 election.
Trump endorsed fire-breathing Congressman Jody Hice in the 2022 GOP primary for SOS. But Raffy kicked his butt and was later reelected. He has lots to prove to those in his own party, and has the personality of an eggplant but is loaded (self-made) and could fund his own campaign.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Geoff Duncan: Split off from far-Right after the 2020 election, realizing there was too much cray cray in the GOP ranks. Has advocated for a saner party and has become a favorite GOP turncoat on the cable news shows.
His recent turn to the Dems, he said, was “centered around my daily struggle to love my neighbor, as a Republican.” May hope to run as a centrist/semi-conservative Dem. Democrats seem wary he’s an opportunist.
Jason Carter: GOP operatives worried about a candidacy from Jimmy Carter’s grandson when I spoke with them months ago. He was a Dem who could win a general election, although winning a Democratic primary is difficult as a white man.
He won’t be running, as his wife is fighting cancer.
Keisha Lance Bottoms: One-term Atlanta mayor hopes name recognition and, um, name recognition will win the primary. Could happen. Most of the big political posts in metro Atlanta are occupied by Black women who won Dem primaries.
She is the GOP’s dream candidate because they would continually run ads of a Wendy’s burning in 2020 and then show the street blocked by gun-toting gang members who ultimately killed a little girl.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Jason F. Esteves: A state senator and former Atlanta Public Schools chairman whose name often draws blank stares. But he has amassed $1.2 million in donations and support from City Hall types who roll their eyes at Bottoms’ candidacy. Republican strategists don’t know what to make of him. “He’s tall,” two of them told me.
May not be ready for prime time. But can carve out a lane as a newcomer.
Michael Thurmond: The old warhorse of Georgia politics. Was the first African American to win a majority-white legislative district. Touts himself as a reach-across-the-aisle moderate.
Has a savvy streak and if pushed out a second-floor window, would likely land on his feet. He has occupied numerous government gigs: DFCS commissioner, state labor commissioner, DeKalb County school superintendent and the county’s CEO — kind of like a mini-governor. The question: Has his time come or gone?
It feels like a 39-year-old All Pro quarterback coming out of retirement. But quarterbacks now have a longer shelf life.
Stacey Abrams: Um …
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