Polls open for Georgia primary

2022 elections enter new phase as Georgians head to polls

Georgia State Capitol

Polls have opened in Georgia’s primary election.

Today, voters in both parties will be nominating candidates for statewide offices, congressional seats and state legislative races across the state.

The two marquee contests are the races for Governor and U.S. Senate. In the race for Governor, former Sen. David Perdue is looking to knock off Gov. Brian Kemp in the Republican primary as the party begins to turn its focus towards defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, gearing up to face voters for a full six-year term, will soon have a Republican rival. Retired UGA football legend Herschel Walker is widely seen as the frontrunner, but he must first emerge from a field that includes the state agriculture commissioner and two wealthy businessmen.

As we discussed on Monday, many down-ballot primaries remain up in the air ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is facing a Trump-back primary challenge. The race for Lieutenant Governor features two GOP state senators and a crowded field of Democrats. Several of these races are almost certainly going to be forced to runoffs in June due to the large field of candidates.

With competitive congressional districts virtually eliminated in redistricting, many congressional races will essentially be decided in today’s primary elections. In Georgia’s 10th district, a crowded GOP field is aiming to succeed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who is running for Secretary of State.

In the 7th district, Democratic U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux are facing off for a solidly blue district after Republican state legislators passed a new map that will likely expand their dominance in Congress.

In the 6th district, there is a spirited Republican primary in a district that now stretches into exurban and rural North Georgia. Nine Republicans are running in a race that is almost certainly going to advance to a runoff.

A record number of Georgians have already cast their ballots.

“By the end of Friday, the final day of early in-person voting, nearly 800,000 Georgians had cast ballots — more than three times the number in 2018, and higher even than in 2020, a presidential year.”

Polls will close at 7:00PM EDT.