New poll shows tightening Georgia governor’s race
Affordability tops voters’ concerns as Bottoms leads 46.4% to Jackson’s 44.9% in a tightening 2026 Ga. governor race.
With fewer than 100 days left in the Georgia midterm election cycle, the political lines between Republicans and Democrats are blurring. Two intense races are at the top of the ticket, and the results will not only hold significance for Georgians at home, but also for Georgia’s representation in Congress.
A number of prominent conservatives have endorsed and supported Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in his reelection bid against MAGA loyalist Rep. Mike Collins, citing character and ability to get work done for Georgia as reasons to cross party lines. Ossoff has significant support in polling and his public feuding with President Donald Trump has only added visibility to his campaign.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson is getting a similar kind of support in his race against former Democratic mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms for control of the state house.
Jackson and Bottoms have been neck-and-neck in polls since Bottoms dominated her Democratic primary and Jackson knocked out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a Republican primary runoff. Jackson was a latecomer to the governor’s race, going from announcing his candidacy to being the Republican nominee in just five months.
Now, two Democratic sheriff’s and a prominent Buckhead Democrat have publicly backed Jackson for governor, according to reporting from Atlanta News First and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a move that could push him over the edge for swing voters or Democrats with concerns about Bottoms’ mayoral record.
Democrats back Jackson for Governor
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk and Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy have announced their support of Jackson in the governor’s race, according to Atlanta News First.
The sheriff’s told the outlet they were concerned about public safety and support of law enforcement heading into the next four years.
“Public safety is more important than political affiliations,” Paulk told the outlet. Peavy said Jackson will be a “true partner” of law enforcement.
Public safety has been a repeated attack against Bottoms, going back as far as the Democratic primary debates. Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, and during that time there were periods of unrest related to the Black Lives Matter protests and COVID-19. In previous statements, Bottoms has said she operated with the information she had at the time, and hindsight always provides ways in which addressing public safety could be improved. Bottoms ultimately did not seek reelection as mayor, later taking a position in the Biden Administration.
Jackson, however, has used these points regularly in attack ads and on the campaign trail.
Billy Linville, a prominent Democrat in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead, is also creating a group to help sway swing voters into considering a split ticket in November to support Jackson, he told the AJC.
“I plan to communicate, remind and inform Democrats and independent voters that, in fact, Rick Jackson, is a better choice,” he told the outlet. “I don’t agree with Rick on every policy position. But his life story and struggle are a window into his character.”
He also called Jackson a “decent man,” and said Bottoms “refused, or was unable, to lead and govern” during her time as mayor.
Jackson celebrated the endorsement in a post on X, saying “Billy Linville and I may not agree on every issue, but we both want Georgia to be strong and prosperous. Honored to have his support!”
Conservatives approve of Ossoff’s record in Georgia
In the Senate race, it’s the Democrat who is pulling in support from conservatives.
Shelley Wynters, a conservative talk radio host in Atlanta, was one of the first to speak out in support of Ossoff shortly after the primary election. The self-described “never scared Black and Conservative” media personality said in an interview with the Senator that he saw his first term as a “job interview,” and that he hadn’t seen any reason to remove Ossoff from his post.
“I’m here to tell you live on the radio that I am team Ossoff for the rest of the summer and I will do everything I can possible on this show to get you re-elected,” Wynter said following an interview on air with Ossoff. “I see re-elections as a job interview, and in my humble opinion, I’ve seen nothing from Senator Jon Ossoff that requires me to say you’re fired from the job.”
Ossoff’s actions while Senator also earned him praise from Georgia Christian broadcaster and “conservative truth-teller” Erick Erickson.
“You talk to farmers in South Georgia, they can get him on the phone. They can get his staff on the phone. They can get help,” Erickson said during a recent segment. “You talk to Republicans in Houston County, very Republican part of the state, they know they can reach out to Ossoff, and he doesn’t care that they’re Republican. If they need something, he’s going to get it done.”
He has also been endorsed by Mayor Julie Smith, of Tifton, and Mayor Scott James Matheson, of Valdosta, who are in nonpartisan positions, but are both openly conservative and registered Republicans.
“He’s been very good to South Georgia, and in my nonpartisan role as mayor, I have to look to someone who takes care of their constituents. I’m a Republican, but there are times when a person exceeds the party. They go above and beyond,” Smith told the AJC. “I don’t have to track him down. He tracks me down.”
Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, has also thrown his support behind Ossoff.
“I’m still a conservative Republican. But character matters. And I want someone in that seat who takes the institution seriously and will protect the institution,” Flake told the AJC. “Character is more important. I’ve been around long enough to know that you’ll disagree on issues with people across the aisle, or sometimes in your party. But the more important thing is character. I compare that to somebody who will likely go back and just be a rubber stamp for whatever the president wants.”
Will 2026 repeat split tickets seen in 2022 midterm cycle?
The two races, which could have widespread impacts not only in Georgia but in Washington, could yield a significant number of split tickets, meaning voters support one party for the governor’s seat and another for the Senate. Based on polling alone, non-MAGA Republicans may stick to their party for Jackson but decide to support the popular Democrat for Senate. Democrats could also decide to support Jackson in the state house but stick with the Democrat in the Senate race.
It has happened in the Peach State before.
A political scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Bernard Fraga, previously told USA TODAY the 2026 cycle is similar to the issues faced in 2022. In that case, a controversial Senate candidate, Republican Herschel Walker, lost his race to Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock, while popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won his race against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
“I think it’s possible that if voters, particularly Republican voters, are thinking about splitting their tickets, that the direction that split is going to go is in favor of Ossoff for Senate, but Jackson for governor,” Fraga said. “I think that it just really reflects kind of natural proclivities of their campaigns and their relative strengths. I think that if we weren’t in such a nationalized political environment where it seems like we’re so divided, this wouldn’t at all be surprising. … It’s really just surprising, given the broader environment, that voters still, not most of them but some of them, are willing to vote for a person and not just a party.”
Irene Wright covers politics in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.