Week-long candidate qualifying begins Monday

Georgia candidates set to qualify for federal, state and local races

Georgia State Capitol

Candidates for Georgia’s top races are set to kick off qualifying week Monday morning. This is the week when candidates for federal, state and local elections must visit the Georgia Capitol to fill out paperwork and pay a qualifying fee to place their name on the ballot for the May primary election.

Hundreds of candidates from both parties will parade through the Gold Dome throughout the week. Lots of races will be on the ballot this year: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) is set to defend the seat he grabbed from Republicans more than a year ago.

Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is set to face a competitive primary and general election in his fight for a second term. Republicans are also defending all of the state’s constitutional offices, such as Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State.

All 14 congressional districts and all 236 state legislative districts will also be on the ballot, as well has hundreds of county and local races.

Qualifying week comes at an inflection point for both parties. Democrats are seeking to prove that their shocking victories in the 2020 election were not a fluke. Stacey Abrams is waging a second run for governor after her narrow 2018 loss to Kemp, and Democrats plan to seriously contest every major race to try and drive up turnout.

But with President Joe Biden’s approval ratings on the decline and growing uncertainty surrounding the economy, many Democrats worry that they could face political headwinds at the ballot box this November.

Georgia Republicans, meanwhile, are set to begin qualifying after redrawing the state’s political boundaries for the next decade. New maps were drawn to expand the party’s dominance in Congress and preserve their dwindling grip on state government.

But former President Donald Trump has promised to punish those in the party who did not join in on his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat, including Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Many Republicans are concerned that these grudge matches could lead to depressed turnout in the general election, which could hand victories to Democrats.

Qualifying is also taking place during the 40-day state legislative session. Republican lawmakers have spent this session passing legislation aiming to change how race is discussed in school classrooms. Similar legislation has been passed in other Republican-led states.

The majority party says that the legislation is necessary to give parents more oversight in the education of their children, while Democrats are dismissing it as a campaign stunt to energize the Republican base.

Qualifying week allows lawmakers to take a small break from the legislative mudslinging to kick off their re-election campaigns, even if it’s just for a few moments. Lawmakers are unable to raise money during the legislative session due to ethics rules, so qualifying is the only real opportunity they will have to campaign until the session ends in April.

We could also be in for some surprises over the course of the next week. Some legislators could announce this week that they will not run for re-election, new candidates could jump into statewide races, and candidates who previously announced statewide runs could decide not to move forward with their campaigns.

You can keep track of qualified candidates here. The Secretary of State’s office will be updating the site throughout the week.