Georgia will have off-cycle statewide elections this year, along with regularly scheduled municipal elections.
Those statewide races come after a long legal challenge to the Georgia Public Service Commission’s (PSC) election structure, which led to no PSC elections in 2022 and 2024. The PSC is the small but powerful board that makes critical decisions about energy and electricity in Georgia.
There are a total of eight candidates running for seats currently held by Republicans Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson.
Special party primaries will be June 17 with a July 15 runoff if necessary. The special general election will be Nov. 4. General election runoffs are not likely as Libertarians have lost ballot access in Georgia, along with the deadline passing for any other independent candidates.
Notable municipal races across metro Atlanta this year
There are also a number of municipal elections across Georgia, with the most high-profile being Atlanta mayor, City Council president and all 15 other members of the City Council.
Qualifying for those races will be Aug. 19-22. Election Day is Nov. 4 with a Dec. 2 runoff, if necessary.
Mayor Andre Dickens has already announced that he is running for re-election, while City Council President Doug Shipman has announced he is not because of medical issues in his family.
Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet also announced she is running for Council president, which would open her seat. Councilmember Amir Farokhi will be stepping down in July to lead The Galloway School.
The Atlanta Public School Board Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 at-large seats are also on the ballot. Those seats are currently held by Aretta Baldon, Jennifer McDonald, Tolton Pace and Cynthia Briscoe Brown respectively.
Another interesting race is for Sandy Springs mayor. Incumbent Mayor Rusty Paul is being challenged by a field that includes City Councilmembers Andy Bauman and Jody Reichel, according to Appen Media. Also running are 2021 mayoral candidate Dontaye Carter and Alex Somer.
In the City of South Fulton, Mayor Khalid Kamau is not running for re-election. Announced candidates include former South Fulton Mayor Bill Edwards, along with current City Council members Carmalitha Gumbs and Helen Willis. Kelvin Davis has also announced a run for mayor.
In Hall County, Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon will challenge U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde in 2026, so it will be an open mayor’s race this year.
Another notable race is the expected special election to replace Republican State Sen. Brandon Beach. He is joining the Trump administration as U.S. treasurer.
The process to replace him cannot start until Beach formally resigns his seat. Once that happens, a special election will be called to fill his heavily Republican seat that includes parts of northern and eastern Cherokee County, along with northern Fulton County. All candidates would appear on the same special election ballot. If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates would go to a runoff. It would likely be filled before the 2026 legislative session gets underway in January.
A note of disclosure: WABE’s broadcast license is held by the Atlanta Board of Education.
