Georgia 2026: McBath taking steps toward launching gov bid, report says
Four-term lawmaker likely to enter gov race in coming weeks: AJC
Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath is taking steps toward throwing her hat into the ring to be the next governor of Georgia.
The metro Atlanta congresswoman has filed the necessary paperwork to begin raising money for a state-level campaign, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that she could be just weeks away from formally launching a campaign to succeed outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp and become the nation’s first Black female governor.
“Georgians deserve a governor who understands what’s at stake, because they’ve lived it,” McBath said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A retired flight attendant, the 64-year-old first arrived on the political scene more than a decade ago when she became a forceful advocate for gun control following the murder of her teenage son at a Florida gas station.
In 2018, she waged a seemingly longshot campaign for a suburban congressional seat north of Atlanta in what was her first-ever run for public office, toppling Republican U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in one of the most shocking results of that year’s midterm elections. Just a year prior, now-U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff had waged a multimillion-dollar but unsuccessful bid against Handel for the same seat.
Since then, McBath has been a target for defeat for Georgia Republicans. Handel tried, but failed, to recapture the seat in a 2020 rematch. Republicans down at the Gold Dome then used their mapmaking powers to twice try and force her into an early retirement. Over just four terms, she has represented roughly half of metro Atlanta — the biggest source for votes in a statewide Democratic primary.
That, along with an anticipated early entry, could give her a leg up in a field that is only expected to grow. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has dropped hints about potentially entering the race since she departed the Biden administration. State Sen. Jason Esteves, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and 2014 nominee Jason Carter are all said to be weighing bids as well.
Republicans, on the other hand, have a roster full of statewide officeholders aiming for a promotion. Attorney General Chris Carr became the first declared candidate of either party when he entered the race last fall. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the president of the state Senate, is expected to join him once state lawmakers leave town for the year. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is also said to be kicking the tires.
McBath or any potential Democratic nominee will have their work cut out for them. They must first energize and turn out large numbers of Black voters to help get through a Democratic primary before quickly pivoting to general election mode, which will require peeling off a number of Trump voters who last year helped the President recapture the state for the Republicans.
It’s a task that McBath says she’s up for: “As a mom and breast cancer survivor, I’ve seen first hand how regular people are too often left out of the political process,” she told the AJC. “I look forward to continuing this conversation with my neighbors and fellow Georgians.”