(The Center Square) – Georgia voters will decide two Public Service Commission seats are up for grabs next week ahead of another rare offseason summer election for a state Senate seat.
The summer contests, paired with a flurry of candidate announcements for 2026 contests, put elections in the forefront.
Democrats Peter Hubbard, Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites are on the District 3 ballot for the Tuesday primary for the Public Service Commission.
Republican Tim Echols, representing District 2, has a primary challenger in Lee Muns. Alicia Johnson is the lone Democrat in the primary.
The commissioners must live in their district, but all the state’s eligible can vote in the election. The winners of the primary will move on to the Nov. 4 general election.
Voters in Senate District 21 will decide who is going to replace Brandon Beach, who resigned after he was named U.S. treasurer by President Donald Trump. The district covers part of Cherokee and Fulton counties.
Only one Democrat, Debra Shigley, is in the race. Republican candidates are Brian Will, Brice Futch, Jason T. Dickerson, Lance Calvert, Stephanie Donegan and Steve West. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff will be held on Sept. 23.
Candidates for the 2026 elections are busy getting their names out there for the 2026 election. Democrats already have four candidates seeking the governor’s job–Keisha Lance Bottoms, Olu Brown, Jason Esteves and Derrick Jackson. Attorney General Chris Carr is the only Republican in the race so far but Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is expected to announce his official candidacy soon.
Three senators are seeking Jones’ job – Democrat Josh McLaurin and Republicans John Kennedy and Steve Gooch.
The hottest statewide ticket is the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, where at least two candidates are vying for the chance to challenge Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter are in but others could enter the campaign.
The son of a Georgia football legend said he may run. Derek Dooley, son of former University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he may seek the office. Dooley was the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and also had coaching stints at Alabama, Missouri and in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
