A general election was held in the U.S. state of Georgia on November 6, 2018. All of Georgia's executive officers were up for election as well as all of Georgia's fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives . Neither U.S. Senate seat was up for election in 2018. The Republican Party won every statewide office in 2018.
Incumbent Republican governor Nathan Deal was term-limited and unable to seek re-election to a third consecutive term.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp won the Republican nomination, defeating incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Casey Cagle in a runoff election.[ 1] Georgia General Assembly Minority Leader Stacey Abrams won the Democratic nomination. Ted Metz ran for the Libertarian Party.[ 2] Kemp beat Abrams following a very divisive campaign.
Lieutenant governor [ edit ]
Potential Republican candidates include Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer , State Representative Geoff Duncan , Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert , State Senator Butch Miller , State Senator Burt Jones , Secretary of State Brian Kemp , Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and former adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard Jim Butterworth .[ 3] [ 4] State Representative Allen Peake was also speculated as a potential candidate, but has ruled out a bid.[ 5] [ 6]
As of November 2017, the declared Democratic candidate is Sarah Riggs Amico, an auto executive.[ 7] Potential Democratic candidates include 2010 Attorney General nominee, former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges .[ 8]
Sarah Riggs Amico, businesswoman[ 9]
Triana Arnold James, small business owner, and veteran[ 10]
Incumbent Republican attorney general Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University effective November 1, 2016, with Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Christopher M. "Chris" Carr being appointed to serve the remainder of the term.[ 19] Carr will be eligible to run for election to a full term in 2018.
Potential Republican candidates include State Senator Josh McKoon and former state representative B.J. Pak .[ 19] [ 20]
Potential Democratic candidates included State Representative Stacey Evans and former Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair Lester Tate.[ 21] [ 22] 2010 nominee and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges was considered a potential candidate, but has decided to run for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals instead.[ 22] Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson has ruled out running for attorney general.[ 23] As of July 2018, Charlie Bailey , former Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office, was running.
Governing magazine projected the race as "leans Republican".[ 26]
Incumbent Republican secretary of state Brian Kemp ran for governor.[ 28]
State Representative Buzz Brockway ran for the Republican nomination.[ 29] Other potential Republican candidates included Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and State Senators Steve Gooch , John Albers and Michael Williams .[ 29] [ 30]
The Democratic nominee was former U.S. Representative from Georgia's 12th congressional district , John Barrow , who defeated Dee Dawkins-Haigler and Rakeim "RJ" Hadley in the primary.[ 31]
The Libertarian candidate was Smythe Duval. He won the nomination at the Georgia State Libertarian Convention in February 2018. [ 32]
Commissioner of Agriculture [ edit ]
2018 Georgia Agriculture Commissioner election
Election results by county Precinct results Black 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% >90%Swann: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black is eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.
Fred Swann is the Democratic candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture.[ 42]
Commissioner of Insurance [ edit ]
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Insurance Ralph Hudgens is not running for re-election.[ 46]
Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, is running for the Democratic nomination.[ 47]
Donnie Foster won the Libertarian nomination for Insurance Commissioner at the Georgia Libertarian Convention in February 2018. [ 48]
Janice Laws
Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future
Jim Beck , former Deputy Insurance Commissioner[ 50]
Jay Florence
Tracy Jordan
Commissioner of Labor [ edit ]
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler is eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.
Richard Keatley
Fred Quinn
State Superintendent of Schools [ edit ]
2018 Georgia State Superintendent of Schools election
Woods: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% >90%Thornton Jr.: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90%
Incumbent Republican State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods is running for re-election to a second term in office.[ 56]
Potential Democratic candidates include Georgia Association of Educators President Sid Chapman and former National PTA President Otha Thornton.[ 56]
Sid Chapman, president of the Georgia Association of Educators
Sam Mosteller
Otha E. Thornton Jr., former National PTA President
Public Service Commission [ edit ]
Elections will be held for District 3 and District 5 of the Public Service Commission.
In District 3 Ryan Graham is the Libertarian candidate for Public Service Commission. [ 61]
In District 5 John Turpish is the Libertarian candidate for Public Service Commission. [ 62]
District 3 Democratic primary [ edit ]
Lindy Miller
John Noel
Johnny C. White
District 3 Republican primary [ edit ]
District 3 General Election [ edit ]
District 5 Democratic primary [ edit ]
Dawn A. Randolph
Doug Stoner
District 5 Republican primary [ edit ]
John Hitchins III
Tricia Pridemore, incumbent
District 5 General Election [ edit ]
All 56 seats in the Georgia State Senate are up for election in 2018.
All 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives are up for election in 2018.
United States House of Representatives [ edit ]
All of Georgia's fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Democrats flipped one seat that elected a Republican in the previous election, resulting in them holding 5 of the state's 14 seats.
The gubernatorial race was particularly controversial during the 2018 elections, as Republican candidate Brian Kemp was also the Georgia Secretary of State , a position which involves overseeing the electoral process, leading to allegations of conflicts of interests. [ 70] [ 71] [ 72] Despite calls from Georgia Democrats, organizations such as the NAACP [ 73] and Common Cause ,[ 74] and former president Jimmy Carter,[ 75] Kemp did not relinquish the position until after the election.[ 76]
Accusations were also leveled at Kemp with regards to the purging of voter rolls that was done under his oversight. Removing names from voter rolls is a common practice in the case of voters who are deceased or have moved out of state,[ 77] but since 2017, the practice has spiked in Georgia.[ 78] Due to strict voting rules in Georgia, tens of thousands of citizens lost their right to vote because of otherwise trivial issues, such as small differences between pieces of identification or insufficiently similar signatures.[ 79] Kemp was accused of using the voter roll purge as a tactic to disenfranchise more than half a million people, predominantly African-Americans ,[ 80] which has been likened to voter suppression .[ 81] [ 82]
^ "Georgia Republicans give nod to Kemp in governor's race" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 28, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2020 .
^ Metz, Ted. "2018 Candidates" . Libertarian Party of Georgia .
^ Bluestein, Greg; Gould Sheinin, Aaron (January 24, 2016). "Some cracks appear in GOP leadership inside Georgia's Capitol" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved September 23, 2016 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (November 18, 2016). "Former pro baseball player turned Georgia legislator makes pitch for higher office" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
^ Kremer, Will (July 27, 2015). "Allen Peake for Lt. Gov?" . Peach Pundit . Retrieved September 23, 2016 .
^ Lee, Maggie (February 3, 2016). "Peake won't run for lieutenant governor" . The Telegraph . Retrieved September 23, 2016 .
^ "A Democratic auto executive gears up for Georgia's No. 2 job | Political Insider" . Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017 .
^ Young, Neely (August 1, 2016). "Political Patter" . Georgia Trend . Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (September 25, 2017). "A Democratic auto executive gears up for Georgia's No. 2 job" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017 .
^ "AROUND TOWN: Keeping it in the family; more candidates announce" . MDJOnline.com . December 8, 2017.
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (April 11, 2017). "Geoff Duncan enters Lt Gov race" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved April 30, 2017 .
^ Sturgeon, Kathleen (April 26, 2017). "Rep. Duncan announces Lt. Gov. campaign" . Forsyth Herald .
^ Bluestein, Greg (May 5, 2017). "David Shafer is running for lieutenant governor" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved May 5, 2017 .
^ Gould Sheinin, Aaron (May 26, 2017). "Rick Jeffares joins race for lieutenant governor" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved May 30, 2017 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ a b "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ a b Bluestein, Greg (October 12, 2016). "Deal appoints loyalist to be Georgia's attorney general" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (October 6, 2016). "Jack Kingston becomes a D.C. lobbyist for the Syrian opposition" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (October 4, 2016). "Democrat Stacey Evans eyes a run for soon-to-be-opened Attorney General seat" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
^ a b Bluestein, Greg (March 29, 2017). "Ken Hodges passes on AG run to seek judgeship" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved April 12, 2017 .
^ Williams, Chuck (April 12, 2017). "Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson weighs run for governor, secretary of state" . Ledger-Enquirer . Retrieved April 12, 2017 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ Jacobson, Louis (June 4, 2018). "Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever" . Governing. Retrieved September 22, 2019 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (March 31, 2017). "Georgia 2018: Brian Kemp enters race for governor" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017 .
^ a b c Bluestein, Greg (March 13, 2017). "Buzz Brockway to seek Secretary of State gig in 2018" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved April 12, 2017 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (July 5, 2016). "An early Donald Trump backer aims for higher office in Georgia" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved September 23, 2016 .
^ "Qualifying Candidate Information" . Georgia Secretary of State webpage . Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
^ Duval, Smythe. "Libertarian Candidate" . J. Smythe Duval for Secretary of State . Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (September 25, 2017). "John Barrow aims for comeback with bid for Georgia secretary of state" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (March 29, 2017). "Vogtle fallout: Ending reactor project, loss of thousands of jobs on table" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved March 31, 2017 .
^ a b Bluestein, Greg (April 24, 2017). "Alpharetta mayor announces candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved May 10, 2017 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ Salzer, James (July 6, 2017). "Georgia's "religious liberty" senator joins Secretary of State race" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved July 6, 2017 .
^ Hassinger, Mike (April 4, 2017). "New Entrant For Secretary Of State" . GeorgiaPol.com . Retrieved May 10, 2017 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "December 4, 2018 General Election Runoff" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
^ "Fred Swann For Georgia Agriculture Commissioner" . Retrieved August 7, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Salzer, James (July 17, 2017). "Georgia insurance commissioner won't run for re-election in 2018" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved July 17, 2017 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (July 18, 2017). "Health advocate enters race for Georgia insurance chief" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved July 19, 2017 .
^ Foster, Donnie. "Candidates" .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ Boyer, Sam. "Jim beck – running for Georgia Insurance Commissioner" . insurancebusinessmag.com .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ a b Tagami, Ty (May 8, 2017). "Democrats eye Georgia school superintendent's office in 2018" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved May 25, 2017 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election Runoff" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Graham, Ryan. "Libertarian Nominee District 3" . Ryan Graham for Public Service Commission .
^ Turpish, John. "Libertarian District 5 Public Service Commission Nominee" .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ "December 4, 2018 General Election Runoff" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election" . Georgia Secretary of State . Retrieved July 25, 2018 .
^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" . GA - Election Night Reporting . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Nelson, Janai. "Georgia gubernatorial candidate's huge conflict of interest" . CNN . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ "Georgia Voting Machine Issues Heighten Scrutiny on Brian Kemp" . WIRED . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Anderson, Carol (November 7, 2018). "Brian Kemp's Lead in Georgia Needs an Asterisk" . The Atlantic . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Samuels, Brett (November 6, 2018). "NAACP president: 'I wish we could bring criminal charges' against Brian Kemp over voting issues" . TheHill . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ "Common Cause Georgia v. Brian Kemp | Brennan Center for Justice" . www.brennancenter.org . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Watkins, Eli. "Jimmy Carter calls for Brian Kemp to resign as GA secretary of state" . CNN . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Pramuk, Jacob (November 8, 2018). "Georgia's GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp resigns as secretary of state" . CNBC . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Durkin, Erin (October 19, 2018). "GOP candidate improperly purged 340,000 from Georgia voter rolls, investigation claims" . the Guardian . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ "Georgia's strict laws lead to large purge of voters" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ George, Kavitha. "The ACLU Is Suing Over A Georgia Law That Could Disqualify Thousands Of Voters" . Bustle . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ "Voter-Suppression Tactics in the Age of Trump" . The New Yorker . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Shah, Khushbu (November 10, 2018). " 'Textbook voter suppression': Georgia's bitter election a battle years in the making" . the Guardian . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
^ Jordan, Elise (November 15, 2018). "I've Worked in Republican Politics. The Party's Voter Suppression in the Midterms Has Been a Disgrace" . TIME . Retrieved November 15, 2018 .
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