2018 Georgia state elections explained

Election Name:2018 Georgia elections
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2016 Georgia state elections
Previous Year:2016
Election Date:
Next Election:2020 Georgia state elections
Next Year:2020

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.

Governor

See main article: Georgia gubernatorial election, 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

See main article: Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018. 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]

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Runoff results

General election

Attorney general

See main article: 2018 Georgia Attorney General election.

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.[15] 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.[15] [16]

Potential Democratic candidates included State Representative Stacey Evans and former Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair Lester Tate.[17] 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.[18] Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson has ruled out running for attorney general.[19] As of July 2018, Charlie Bailey, former Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office, was running.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Governing magazine projected the race as "leans Republican".[20]

Secretary of state

See main article: Georgia Secretary of State election, 2018. Incumbent Republican secretary of state Brian Kemp ran for governor.[21]

State Representative Buzz Brockway ran for the Republican nomination.[22] Other potential Republican candidates included Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and State Senators Steve Gooch, John Albers and Michael Williams.[22] [23]

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.[24]

The Libertarian candidate was Smythe Duval. He won the nomination at the Georgia State Libertarian Convention in February 2018. [25]

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Runoff results

General election

Runoff results

Commissioner of Agriculture

Election Name:2018 Georgia Agriculture Commissioner election
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2014 Georgia state elections#Commissioner of Agriculture
Previous Year:2014
Election Date:November 2, 2018
Next Election:2022 Georgia state elections#Commissioner of Agriculture
Next Year:2022
Seats For Election:Georgia Agriculture Commissioner
Image1:File:Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Gary Black
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:2,040,097
Percentage1:53.08%
Nominee2:Fred Swann
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:1,803,383
Percentage2:46.92%
Map Size:240px
Commissioner
Before Election:Gary Black
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Gary Black
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

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.[31]

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Commissioner of Insurance

Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Insurance Ralph Hudgens is not running for re-election.[32]

Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, is running for the Democratic nomination.[33]

Donnie Foster won the Libertarian nomination for Insurance Commissioner at the Georgia Libertarian Convention in February 2018. [34]

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Commissioner of Labor

Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler is eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

State Superintendent of Schools

Election Name:2018 Georgia State Superintendent of Schools election
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2014 Georgia state elections#State Superintendent of Schools
Previous Year:2014
Next Election:2022 Georgia state elections#State Superintendent of Schools
Next Year:2022
Seats For Election:Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
Image1:Richard Woods at Cobb County GOP Breakfast (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Richard Woods
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:2,048,003
Percentage1:53.0%
Nominee2:Otha E. Thornton Jr.
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:1,814,461
Percentage2:47.0%
Map Size:240px
Superintendent
Before Election:Richard Woods
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Richard Woods
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

Incumbent Republican State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods is running for re-election to a second term in office.[36]

Potential Democratic candidates include Georgia Association of Educators President Sid Chapman and former National PTA President Otha Thornton.[36]

Democratic primary

Runoff results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Public Service Commission

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. [37]

In District 5 John Turpish is the Libertarian candidate for Public Service Commission. [38]

District 3 Democratic primary

Primary results

District 3 Republican primary

Primary results

District 3 General Election

Runoff results

District 5 Democratic primary

Primary results

District 5 Republican primary

Primary results

District 5 General Election

General Assembly

State senate

See main article: Georgia State Senate election, 2018. All 56 seats in the Georgia State Senate are up for election in 2018.

State House

See main article: Georgia House of Representatives election, 2018. All 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives are up for election in 2018.

United States House of Representatives

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia, 2018.

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.

Controversies

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.[39] [40] [41] Despite calls from Georgia Democrats, organizations such as the NAACP[42] and Common Cause,[43] and former president Jimmy Carter,[44] Kemp did not relinquish the position until after the election.[45]

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,[46] but since 2017, the practice has spiked in Georgia.[47] 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.[48] Kemp was accused of using the voter roll purge as a tactic to disenfranchise more than half a million people, predominantly African-Americans,[49] which has been likened to voter suppression.[50] [51]

External links

Official Attorney General campaign websites
Official Commissioner of Agriculture campaign websites
Official Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner campaign websites
Official Commissioner of Labor campaign websites
Official State Superintendent of Schools campaign websites
Official Public Service Commission district 3 campaign websites
Official Public Service Commission district 5 campaign websites

Notes and References

  1. News: Georgia Republicans give nod to Kemp in governor's race . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . July 28, 2018 . October 31, 2020.
  2. Web site: 2018 Candidates. Metz. Ted. Libertarian Party of Georgia.
  3. Web site: Some cracks appear in GOP leadership inside Georgia's Capitol. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. Gould Sheinin. Aaron. January 24, 2016. September 23, 2016.
  4. Web site: Former pro baseball player turned Georgia legislator makes pitch for higher office. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. November 18, 2016. November 18, 2016.
  5. Web site: Allen Peake for Lt. Gov?. Peach Pundit. Kremer. Will. July 27, 2015. September 23, 2016.
  6. Web site: Peake won't run for lieutenant governor. The Telegraph. Lee. Maggie. February 3, 2016. September 23, 2016.
  7. News: A Democratic auto executive gears up for Georgia's No. 2 job Political Insider. 2017-11-20. en. September 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170925181553/http://politics.blog.myajc.com/2017/09/25/a-democratic-auto-executive-gears-up-for-georgias-no-2-job-2/. dead.
  8. Web site: Political Patter. Georgia Trend. Young. Neely. August 1, 2016. November 18, 2016.
  9. Web site: A Democratic auto executive gears up for Georgia's No. 2 job. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. September 25, 2017. September 25, 2017. September 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170925181553/http://politics.blog.myajc.com/2017/09/25/a-democratic-auto-executive-gears-up-for-georgias-no-2-job-2/. dead.
  10. Web site: AROUND TOWN: Keeping it in the family; more candidates announce. MDJOnline.com. en. December 8, 2017.
  11. Web site: Geoff Duncan enters Lt Gov race. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. April 11, 2017. April 30, 2017.
  12. Web site: Rep. Duncan announces Lt. Gov. campaign. Forsyth Herald. Sturgeon. Kathleen. April 26, 2017.
  13. Web site: David Shafer is running for lieutenant governor. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. May 5, 2017. May 5, 2017.
  14. Web site: Rick Jeffares joins race for lieutenant governor. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Gould Sheinin. Aaron. May 26, 2017. May 30, 2017.
  15. Web site: Deal appoints loyalist to be Georgia's attorney general. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. October 12, 2016. October 13, 2016.
  16. Web site: Jack Kingston becomes a D.C. lobbyist for the Syrian opposition. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. October 6, 2016. October 13, 2016.
  17. Web site: Democrat Stacey Evans eyes a run for soon-to-be-opened Attorney General seat. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. October 4, 2016. October 13, 2016.
  18. Web site: Ken Hodges passes on AG run to seek judgeship. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. March 29, 2017. April 12, 2017.
  19. Web site: Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson weighs run for governor, secretary of state. Ledger-Enquirer. Williams. Chuck. April 12, 2017. April 12, 2017.
  20. Web site: Jacobson . Louis . Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever . Governing . 22 September 2019 . 4 June 2018.
  21. Web site: Georgia 2018: Brian Kemp enters race for governor. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. March 31, 2017. March 31, 2017. March 31, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170331142417/http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/03/31/georgia-2018-brian-kemp-enters-race-for-governor/. dead.
  22. Web site: Buzz Brockway to seek Secretary of State gig in 2018. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. March 13, 2017. April 12, 2017.
  23. Web site: An early Donald Trump backer aims for higher office in Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. July 5, 2016. September 23, 2016.
  24. Web site: Qualifying Candidate Information. Georgia Secretary of State webpage. March 14, 2018.
  25. Web site: Duval. Smythe. Libertarian Candidate. J. Smythe Duval for Secretary of State. April 10, 2018. February 8, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123553/http://duvalforga.net/. dead.
  26. Web site: John Barrow aims for comeback with bid for Georgia secretary of state. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. September 25, 2017. September 25, 2017. September 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170925225858/http://politics.blog.myajc.com/2017/09/25/barrow-aims-for-a-political-comeback-with-bid-for-georgia-statewide-office/. dead.
  27. Web site: Vogtle fallout: Ending reactor project, loss of thousands of jobs on table. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. March 29, 2017. March 31, 2017.
  28. Web site: Alpharetta mayor announces candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. April 24, 2017. May 10, 2017.
  29. Web site: Georgia's "religious liberty" senator joins Secretary of State race. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Salzer. James. July 6, 2017. July 6, 2017.
  30. Web site: New Entrant For Secretary Of State. GeorgiaPol.com. Hassinger. Mike. April 4, 2017. May 10, 2017.
  31. News: Fred Swann For Georgia Agriculture Commissioner. 2018-08-07.
  32. Web site: Georgia insurance commissioner won't run for re-election in 2018. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Salzer. James. July 17, 2017. July 17, 2017.
  33. Web site: Health advocate enters race for Georgia insurance chief. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bluestein. Greg. July 18, 2017. July 19, 2017.
  34. Web site: Foster. Donnie. Candidates.
  35. Web site: Jim beck – running for Georgia Insurance Commissioner. Boyer . Sam . insurancebusinessmag.com .
  36. Web site: Democrats eye Georgia school superintendent's office in 2018. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tagami. Ty. May 8, 2017. May 25, 2017.
  37. Web site: Graham. Ryan. Libertarian Nominee District 3. Ryan Graham for Public Service Commission.
  38. Web site: Turpish. John. Libertarian District 5 Public Service Commission Nominee.
  39. News: Georgia gubernatorial candidate's huge conflict of interest. Nelson. Janai. CNN. 2018-11-15.
  40. Georgia Voting Machine Issues Heighten Scrutiny on Brian Kemp. WIRED. 2018-11-15. en-US.
  41. News: Brian Kemp's Lead in Georgia Needs an Asterisk. Anderson. Carol. 2018-11-07. The Atlantic. 2018-11-15. en-US.
  42. News: NAACP president: 'I wish we could bring criminal charges' against Brian Kemp over voting issues. Samuels. Brett. 2018-11-06. TheHill. 2018-11-15. en.
  43. Web site: Common Cause Georgia v. Brian Kemp Brennan Center for Justice. www.brennancenter.org. en. 2018-11-15.
  44. News: Jimmy Carter calls for Brian Kemp to resign as GA secretary of state. Eli . Watkins. CNN. 2018-11-15.
  45. News: Georgia's GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp resigns as secretary of state. Pramuk. Jacob. 2018-11-08. CNBC. 2018-11-15.
  46. Web site: GOP candidate improperly purged 340,000 from Georgia voter rolls, investigation claims. Durkin. Erin. 2018-10-19. the Guardian. en. 2018-11-15.
  47. News: Georgia's strict laws lead to large purge of voters. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2018-11-15.
  48. News: The ACLU Is Suing Over A Georgia Law That Could Disqualify Thousands Of Voters. George. Kavitha. Bustle. 2018-11-15. en.
  49. Voter-Suppression Tactics in the Age of Trump. The New Yorker. 2018-11-15. en-US.
  50. Web site: 'Textbook voter suppression': Georgia's bitter election a battle years in the making. Shah. Khushbu. 2018-11-10. the Guardian. en. 2018-11-15.
  51. I've Worked in Republican Politics. The Party's Voter Suppression in the Midterms Has Been a Disgrace. Jordan. Elise. 15 November 2018. TIME. 15 November 2018.

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