Meet the Candidates of the 2026 Midterm Elections
Updated: 5 hours ago
Additional Reporting By: Messiah Johnson
While politics might seem far removed from everyday campus life, the November electoral decisions directly affect students across the Atlanta University Center (AUC). Key policies—ranging from reproductive rights and federal financial aid to campus funding, local public safety, and state education budgets—are at stake. This election cycle, Georgia voters will shape essential federal, state, and down-ballot offices, including races for Governor and the U.S. Senate that influence local rent zoning, utility costs, and institutional funding. To cut through the noise, we created this nonpartisan resource.
Our primary objective is both straightforward and essential: to equip every student, educator, and community member across the Atlanta University Center with the comprehensive, objective, and nonpartisan facts required to navigate the election process and cast an empowered, fully informed ballot. Civic participation goes far beyond a routine civic duty—it is a powerful tool to shape the future of our institutions, secure funding for higher education, protect essential personal freedoms, and influence policies that directly touch our daily lives. Take proactive steps now to verify your voter eligibility, ensure your registration details are accurate and up to date, and encourage your peers to do the same. Make a concrete plan for voting—whether by voting early in person, submitting an absentee mail-in ballot, or showing up at your local precinct on Election Day. Your perspective, your experience, and your voice carry immense weight in this pivotal moment; stand on business, check the receipts, and ensure your vote counts this November.
To prepare for the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026, here is a comprehensive, nonpartisan breakdown of the candidates competing for Georgia's congressional seats and state executive leadership. Special emphasis is placed on key differences in policy platforms, legislative priorities, and the direct impact these federal races will have on students, higher education policy, and local communities throughout Georgia.
Follow our Midterm Elections Reporting and Analysis Here.
Congressional Elections
Members of Congress champion constituent priorities within national policymaking, conduct vital oversight to hold executive agencies accountable, draft and debate federal legislation, and exercise critical fiscal authority through national appropriations and spending bills.
Meet the Candidates
U.S. Senate (Statewide):
Jon Ossoff (Democrat): Incumbent U.S. Senator running for re-election to continue serving Georgia in federal statutory oversight, budget confirmations, and national policymaking.
Mike Collins (Republican): Challenger campaigning for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat to advance conservative legislation, reorder national spending priorities, and exercise judicial oversight.
U.S. House of Representatives (AUC & Regional Districts)
District | Candidates |
District 1 | Amanda Hollowell (D) vs. James Kingston (R) |
District 2 | Sanford Bishop (D) vs. Matt Day (R) |
District 3 | Maura Keller (D) vs. Brian Jack (R) |
District 4 | Henry "Hank" Johnson (D) vs. Jim Duffie (R) |
District 5 (Encompassing the Atlanta University Center) | Nikema Williams (D) vs. John "Bongo" Salvesen (R) |
District 6 | Lucy McBath (D) vs. Kevin F. Martin (R) |
District 7 | Tony Kazycki (D) vs. Rich McCormick (R) |
District 8 | Kelly Esti (D) vs. Austin Scott (R) |
District 9 | Caitlyn Gegen (D) vs. Andrew Clyde (R) |
District 10 | Pamela Delancy (D) vs. Houston Gaines (R) |
District 11 | Chris Harden (D) vs. John Cowan (R) |
District 12 | Coretta Smith (D) vs. Rick Allen (R) |
District 13 | Jasmine Clark (D) vs. Jonathan Chavez (R) |
District 14 | Shawn Harris (D) vs. Clay Fuller (R) |
Significance of Federal Elections
Congressional leaders play a pivotal role in shaping higher education funding frameworks, setting national guidelines for student financial aid, securing federal civil rights protections, and allocating essential research grants for HBCUs. Participating in federal elections directly influences which party holds committee leadership, determines key legislative priorities, and controls the direction of the national budget.
State Executive Leadership + the Gubernatorial Contest
As the state's chief executive officer, the Governor holds constitutional authority to approve or veto General Assembly legislation, direct statutory spending proposals, establish public safety priorities, and manage public health frameworks across Georgia.
Meet the Candidates
Keisha Lance Bottoms (Democrat): The Former Mayor of Atlanta is advancing an executive agenda focused on public institution investment, social program expansion, and systemic governance reform. Her key policy priorities involve overturning Georgia's heartbeat abortion restriction, advancing a statewide clean energy transition goal for 2035, fully funding primary education alongside pre-K programs, expanding state Medicaid access, and establishing universal firearm background checks.
Rick Jackson (Republican): The Corporate executive is campaigning on free-market deregulation, fiscal conservatism, and administrative tax reductions. His core platform advocates enforcing the six-week heartbeat abortion ban, expanding domestic energy refining capacities, strengthening law enforcement mandates alongside mandatory sentencing for violent offenders, utilizing commercial healthcare competition to restrain costs, cutting state income taxes, and enacting stricter voter identification safeguards.
Significance of the Executive Branch
The governor shapes legislative priorities and retains line-item veto power over state allocations for campus infrastructure, local housing initiatives, and healthcare resources. Executive appointments also determine how state administrative departments manage regulatory enforcement, economic policy, and environmental oversight.
Resources:
The Where The Party At? Podcast, hosted by Saba Long and Eldredge Washington, has created a handy voter guide that breaks down the statewide races and the constitutional amendments, including background on the positions and questions on the ballot. It also includes a quick, fun game to test your political IQ. There's also a version to download and print to take with you into the voting booth.
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