{"id":1990,"date":"2026-05-20T04:40:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/20\/georgias-republican-races-for-governor-and-us-senate-head-to-june-runoffs\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T04:40:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:40:33","slug":"georgias-republican-races-for-governor-and-us-senate-head-to-june-runoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=1990","title":{"rendered":"Georgia\u2019s Republican races for governor and US Senate head to June runoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"00f92906-9e53-4333-95d4-60b2bda88b33\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Composite image of two men in blue suits wearing red ties.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/33edb51bc33c8498ce246b04abf4f4fbc90fd6df\/0_0_5000_4000\/master\/5000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rick Jackson (left) and Burt Jones.<\/span> Composite: AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"00f92906-9e53-4333-95d4-60b2bda88b33\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rick Jackson (left) and Burt Jones.<\/span> Composite: AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Georgia\u2019s Republican races for governor and US Senate head to June runoffs<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Democratic primary outright, while Republicans Burt Jones and Rick Jackson will face off<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Republican primary campaign for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/state-of-georgia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Georgia<\/a> governor will go to a June runoff, with the lieutenant governor Burt Jones facing off against healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson \u2013 and locking out Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Donald Trump who was on track to finish a distant third.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Republican race to challenge the US senator Jon Ossoff remains similarly unresolved, while former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic primary for governor outright.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Meanwhile, two Georgia supreme court justices won re-election, fending off Democratic-backed challengers former state senator Jen Jordan and personal injury attorney Miracle Rankin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Judicial elections in Georgia are nonpartisan and decided on primary election ballots. The Georgia supreme court has no Democrat serving on it, because primary elections typically have had lopsided Republican turnout. The court is currently considering the constitutionality of a six-week \u201cheartbeat\u201d abortion ban, which added subtext to the race. The race has been heavily advertised and promoted online in ways that have historically been unusual for a judicial race in Georgia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The judicial contest has at times overshadowed the race to replace the outgoing Republican governor, Brian Kemp. Polling over the last month suggested that a runoff in the well-contested Democratic field was widely expected, with Bottoms, who was endorsed by Joe Biden, finishing in first place. But Bottoms took a wide lead shortly after polls closed, according to preliminary results from the Associated Press, securing the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Democratic primary was relatively genteel compared to dueling attack advertising among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/republicans\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Republicans<\/a>. Jones, who has been endorsed by Trump, and Jackson will continue their showdown, which has soaked up almost all of the available advertising inventory on Georgia television.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Jackson, a political newcomer who was relatively unknown in the state, nevertheless upended the contest by pouring nearly $50mn of his own money into campaign advertising. Republican candidates spent more than $100m in total, according to tracking figures from <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AdImpact_Pol\/status\/2041191536436658366?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_atlanta&amp;stream=top\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">AdImpact<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A long-time Republican stronghold, Georgia has emerged in recent years as a consequential swing state. The state narrowly voted for Biden in 2020, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Democrats<\/a> occupy both of the state\u2019s US senate seats. The open race for governor is considered one of the most competitive in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Senator Ossoff had no Democratic primary challenger, and is sitting on more than $30m heading into the November election. Mike Collins emerged from a crowded Republican primary contest Tuesday as the top vote-getter to challenge Ossoff. He will face Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach who was endorsed by Georgia\u2019s governor, in the 16 June runoff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/state-of-georgia\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Georgia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/republicans\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Republicans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Georgia%E2%80%99s%20Republican%20races%20for%20governor%20and%20US%20Senate%20head%20to%20June%20runoffs&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/georgia-governor-senate-primary-election?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F19%2Fgeorgia-governor-senate-primary-election&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/georgia-governor-senate-primary-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rick Jackson (left) and Burt Jones. Composite: AP View image in fullscreen Rick Jackson (left) and Burt Jones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}