Georgia primary elections Tuesday, Senate and governor races likely headed to runoffs

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgians will head to the polls Tuesday to decide who will be the Republican nominee for Senate and who will represent their party for governor, but even as voters cast ballots, there may not be answers on who will represent each party in November, as runoffs are likely in multiple races.

Senate primary: Carter makes final push

Buddy Carter, the current 1st District congressman, is running as a pro-Trump, MAGA Republican but said his record is what puts him above the competition in the race to face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.

Carter pointed out Rep. Mike Collins is currently under review by the House Committee on Ethics for allegations he misused government funds. Collins has denied the allegations.

Carter also went after Derek Dooley’s voting record, with Dooley saying he didn’t vote for almost two decades.

For those reasons, Carter said he believes he’s the only candidate that can face off against Ossoff. With all candidates polling below 50 percent, the race will likely go to a runoff.

“We’re expecting to be in a runoff, and we will be in the runoff, and then we’ll win the runoff. It’ll be June 16th, and then we’ll beat Jon Ossoff,” Carter said. “You gotta have the right candidate. Look, we’ve lost three Senate races in a row. We lost David Purdue, we lost Kelly Loeffler, and we lost Herschel Walker. You gotta have someone that can go up against him,” said Carter.

Gov. Brian Kemp is backing Dooley in the race. President Trump has not endorsed anyone.

Governor primaries crowded on both sides

The primaries are crowded on both sides in the governor race, with seven Democrats and eight Republicans running.

Republican governor candidates are currently running in the most expensive primary in Georgia history, with over $100 million spent and no clear front-runner emerging.

Billionaire Rick Jackson has spent upwards of $80 million on his campaign in a battle against Trump-endorsed Burt Jones, with attack ads dominating Georgia airwaves.

“I’m the only one that actually has a business background and a legislative background that’ll be ready, day one, to serve as Governor,” Jones said.

Chris Carr, the current attorney general who is running for governor, said despite all the money in the race, he’s the only one who can win in November.

“If you wanna keep this state red, and make sure that Keisha Lance Bottoms is not the next Governor of Georgia, then there is only one vote for Governor and that is me,” Carr said.

On the Democratic side, Lance Bottoms, the former one-term mayor of Atlanta, is polling the strongest. Bottoms was mayor during the COVID era.

“I was still able to lead the city with a balanced budget for four years, didn’t raise property taxes,” Bottoms said.

Bottoms’ support has remained largely static throughout the primary, with Geoff Duncan, Mike Thurmond, and former state Sen. Jason Esteves neck and neck in second place.

“This campaign is around health, wealth, and opportunity, because no matter who you are, you care about you and your family having access to healthcare,” Esteves said.

The races have become some of the most high-profile in the country, with President Trump endorsing Jones and former President Joe Biden endorsing Bottoms.

The polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday.