Georgia voters pick likely future congresswoman, send other hopefuls to runoffs

by Ross Williams and Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

May 20, 2026

Georgia’s congressional delegation is about to look very different.

At least four of the state’s 14 seats in Congress will have new occupants next year after three members are stepping down and another died in office.

Here’s a look at the state of the races where candidates are competing for an open – or only recently filled – seat after Tuesday’s primary election.

Clark wins the 13th

State Rep. Jasmine Clark from Lilburn cleared a crowded field and avoided a runoff in the Democratic primary for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District. She will face healthcare manager Jonathan Chavez, the sole Republican to run for the nomination in November, but the district is considered solidly Democratic.

“I’m so grateful that the voters of Georgia’s 13th Congressional district have placed their trust in me. Our community spoke up and resoundingly said that they want to send a science voice to Congress to speak up for truth,” Clark said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Clark, a microbiologist and professor at Emory University, was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2018. With Clark’s likely election in November, she will replace the late longtime Congressman David Scott, who was first elected in 2002 and has served the district until his death weeks before the primary. A special election is set for July to finish the rest of Scott’s term.

The race started as a call for fresh leadership and a referendum on Scott’s ability to serve, but candidates quickly sharpened their attacks on one another after Scott’s death. Dr. Heavenly Kimes, a dentist and reality TV personality, came in second with about 22% of the vote. Former chair of Gwinnett County Board of Education Everton Blair came in third place with nearly 12%.

Trump endorsees fare well

The race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who instead ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, in the 1st District, was crowded, but Trump-endorsed Republican Jim Kingston narrowly won the nomination with just over 52% of the vote against five other Republicans. Kingston also had a massive fundraising advantage and the benefit of a well-known last name, reported The Current GA. Kingston is the 35-year-old son of longtime U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston.

On the Democratic side, Army veteran Joyce Marie Griggs and political strategist Amanda Hollowell, who received 34% and 25% of the vote, respectively, are headed to a June runoff for the party’s nomination. The district, however, heavily favors a Republican candidate.

State Rep. Houston Gaines is poised to win District 10, an east Georgia district that includes south and eastern Atlanta suburbs, Athens and rural counties up to the South Carolina border.

Its current representative, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, is headed to a runoff with former football coach Derek Dooley in the GOP U.S. Senate primary.

Gaines fended off two other primary candidates with the help of a Trump endorsement. He easily avoided a runoff with more than two-thirds of the vote Tuesday, dashing the hopes of his opponents, plumber Jeff Baker and film entrepreneur Ryan Millsap. Millsap has already said he’ll be back again in 2028.

The last obstacle between Gaines and an office at the U.S. Capitol is Democrat Pam Delancy, a nurse and Army veteran who won Tuesday’s Democratic primary against Lexy Doherty and John Dority without a runoff.

District 11 will see a Republican runoff

The retirement of Republican Congressman Barry Loudermilk led to a crowded field in Georgia’s 11th District, which includes part of Cobb County north of Atlanta and runs north through western Cherokee County and all of Bartow, Gordon and Pickens counties.

Out of seven Republicans seeking the nomination, John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, was the top dog with about 42% of the vote. He’ll face off in June against Rob Adkerson, Loudermilk’s former chief of staff and hand-picked successor, who picked up just under 22% of ballots. Former state Public Service Commission member Tricia Pridemore came in third, missing a shot at the runoff.

The winner will face Democrat Chris Harden in November. Harden, an attorney, defeated fellow Democrat Barry Wolfert with nearly 75% of the vote.

The 11th is solidly conservative.

A rematch is set for the 14th

The results in the 14th District in northwest Georgia were not in much doubt. The Trump-endorsed Republican Congressman Clay Fuller easily trounced a slew of candidates who had qualified to run before Fuller won an April special election to finish the rest of the term of former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. He’s now running for a full term starting in January

Democrat Shawn Harris, a farmer and retired general, faced Fuller in the special election and was the sole Democratic candidate competing to run in November.

Democratic Party insiders celebrated after the special election when Harris over performed expectations in what is often considered Georgia’s most conservative district, but Fuller ultimately won 56% to Harris’ 44%.

Harris will have the chance for a rematch in November.

Redistricting will bring even more change

Georgia’s Congressional District 2 in the southwest of the state is represented by Democratic Congressman Sanford Bishop, and is not likely to see a major change – this year.

Bishop faced no primary challenger, and neither did the Republican candidate, businessman Matt Day.

The two are set to face off in November, and flipping the district into Republican hands would be an uphill battle. Bishop has served in Congress since 1993, and has won by comfortable margins over Republican challengers in recent years.

Keep an eye on this district though as lawmakers head into a special redistricting session next month following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended protections for districts where a majority of residents belong to minority groups. Bishop is the only Georgia Democratic congressman outside of the Atlanta area, and his district is about 49% Black, according to U.S. Census data. That means he could be in trouble in 2028 if Republicans redraw his district to include more Republican voters.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.