A general election was held in the U.S. state of Georgia on November 6, 2018. All of Georgia's executive officers were up for election, as well as all of Georgia's fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives. Neither U.S. Senate seat was up for election in 2018. Early voting for the general election was held from October 15 to 26. The primary for all offices was held on May 22, 2018, with early voting being held April 30 to May 18.
The Republican Party won every statewide office in 2018.
Governor
Incumbent Republican governor Nathan Deal was term-limited and unable to seek re-election to a third consecutive term.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp won the Republican nomination, defeating incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Casey Cagle in a runoff election. Georgia General Assembly Minority Leader Stacey Abrams won the Democratic nomination. Ted Metz ran for the Libertarian Party. Kemp beat Abrams following a very divisive campaign.
Lieutenant governor
Potential Republican candidates included Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer, State Representative Geoff Duncan, Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, State Senator Butch Miller, State Senator Burt Jones, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and former adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard Jim Butterworth. State Representative Allen Peake was also speculated as a potential candidate, but ruled out a bid.
As of November 2017, the declared Democratic candidate was Sarah Riggs Amico, an auto executive. Potential Democratic candidates included 2010 Attorney General nominee, former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges.
Democratic primary Sarah Riggs Amico, businesswoman Triana Arnold James, small business owner and veteran
Primary results
Republican primary Geoff Duncan, state representative Rick Jeffares, state senator David Shafer, state senator
Primary results
Runoff results
General election
Attorney general
Incumbent Republican attorney general Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University effective November 1, 2016, with Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Christopher M. "Chris" Carr being appointed to serve the remainder of the term. Carr would be eligible to run for election to a full term in 2018.
Potential Republican candidates included State Senator Josh McKoon and former state representative B.J. Pak.
Potential Democratic candidates included State Representative Stacey Evans and former Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission Chair Lester Tate. 2010 nominee and former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges was considered a potential candidate, but decided to run for a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals instead. Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson ruled out running for attorney general. As of July 2018, Charlie Bailey, former Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's office, was running.
Democratic primary Charlie Bailey, former Fulton County Senior Assistant District Attorney
Primary results
Republican primary Chris Carr, incumbent
Primary results
General election Governing magazine projected the race as "leans Republican".
Secretary of state
Incumbent Republican secretary of state Brian Kemp ran for governor.
State Representative Buzz Brockway ran for the Republican nomination. Other potential Republican candidates included Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and State Senators Steve Gooch, John Albers, and Michael Williams.
The Democratic nominee was former U.S. Representative from Georgia's 12th congressional district, John Barrow, who defeated Dee Dawkins-Haigler and Rakeim "RJ" Hadley in the primary.
The Libertarian candidate was Smythe Duval. He won the nomination at the Georgia State Libertarian Convention in February 2018.
Democratic primary John Barrow, former U.S. representative Dee Dawkins-Haigler, former state representative and candidate for the state senate in 2016 RJ Hadley, former Rockdale County Tax Commissioner and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010
Primary results
Republican primary Buzz Brockway, state representative David Belle Isle, mayor of Alpharetta Joshua McKoon, state senator Brad Raffensperger, state representative
Primary results
Runoff results
General election
Runoff results
Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black was eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.
Democratic primary Fred Swann
Primary results
Republican primary Gary Black, incumbent.
Primary results
General election
Commissioner of Insurance
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Insurance Ralph Hudgens did not run for re-election.
Democratic primary Janice Laws, insurance agent. Cindy Zeldin
Primary results
Republican primary Jim Beck, former Deputy Insurance Commissioner. Jay Florence Tracy Jordan
Primary results
Libertarian nominee Donnie Foster, former deputy sheriff.
General election
Commissioner of Labor
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler was eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.
Democratic primary Richard Keatley Fred Quinn
Primary results
Republican primary Mark Butler, incumbent.
Primary results
General election
State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Republican State Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods ran for re-election to a second term in office.
Potential Democratic candidates included Georgia Association of Educators president Sid Chapman and former National PTA President Otha Thornton.
Democratic primary Sid Chapman, president of the Georgia Association of Educators Sam Mosteller Otha E. Thornton Jr., former National PTA president
Primary results
Runoff results
Republican primary John Barge, former Georgia Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods, incumbent
Primary results
General election
Public Service Commission Elections were held for District 3 (Metro Atlanta) and District 5 (Western Georgia) of the Georgia Public Service Commission.
District 3
Democratic primary Lindy Miller John Noel Johnny C. White
Results
Republican primary Chuck Eaton, incumbent.
Results
Libertarian nominee Ryan Graham
General Election First round
Runoff
District 5
Democratic primary Dawn A. Randolph Doug Stoner
Results
Republican primary John Hitchins III Tricia Pridemore, incumbent
Results
Libertarian nominee John Turpish
General Election
General Assembly
All 56 seats in the Georgia State Senate and 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives were up for election.
Georgia State Senate Party Before After Change Republican 37 35 2 Democratic 19 21 2 Total 56 56
Georgia House of Representatives Party Before After Change Republican 116 105 11 Democratic 64 75 11 Total 180 180
United States House of Representatives
All of Georgia's fourteen seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Democrats flipped one seat that elected a Republican in the previous election, resulting in them holding five of the state's 14 seats.
Judicial elections Five seats on the Georgia Supreme Court and seven seats on the Georgia Court of Appeals were up for statewide elections. Of these, only one was contested - the seat of Court of Appeals judge John Ellington who ran for Supreme Court following the retirement of Carol Hunstein.
Ken Hodges, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Georgia in 2010, defeated attorney Ken Shigley in a nonpartisan election.
Court of Appeals (Ellington's seat)
Ballot measures Seven statewide ballot measures appeared on the ballot. +2018 Georgia ballot measuresNameDescriptionVotesTypeYes%No%Amendment 1Creates the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and parks. 3,161,607 82.89652,56017.11 Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentAmendment 2Creates a state-wide business court to lower costs, enhance efficiency, and promote predictable judicial outcomes. 2,560,107 69.011,149,50330.99Amendment 3Encourages the conservation, sustainability, and longevity of Georgia's working forests through tax subclassification and grants. 2,275,659 62.181,384,36937.82Amendment 4Provides rights for victims of crime in the judicial process. 3,068,352 80.93723,22019.07Amendment 5Authorizes fair allocation of sales tax proceeds to county and city school districts. 2,640,831 71.241,065,87828.76Referendum AProvides for a homestead exemption for residents of certain municipal corporations. 2,060,127 57.091,548,60842.91 Legislatively referred state statuteReferendum BProvides a tax exemption for certain homes for the mentally disabled. 2,860,293 76.93857,80923.07 Source: Georgia Secretary of State
Controversies The gubernatorial race was particularly controversial during the 2018 elections, as Republican candidate Brian Kemp was also the Georgia Secretary of State, a position which involves overseeing the electoral process, leading to allegations of conflicts of interests. Despite calls from Georgia Democrats, organizations such as the NAACP and Common Cause, and former president Jimmy Carter, Kemp did not relinquish the position until after the election.
Accusations were also leveled at Kemp with regards to the purging of voter rolls that was done under his oversight. Removing names from voter rolls is a common practice in the case of voters who are deceased or have moved out of state, but since 2017, the practice had spiked in Georgia. Due to strict voting rules in Georgia, tens of thousands of citizens lost their right to vote because of otherwise trivial issues, such as small differences between pieces of identification or insufficiently similar signatures. Kemp was accused of using the voter roll purge as a tactic to disenfranchise more than half a million people, predominantly African-Americans, which has been likened to voter suppression.
References
External links Candidates at Vote Smart Candidates at Ballotpedia Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
Official Attorney General campaign websites
Chris Carr (R) for Attorney General
Official Commissioner of Agriculture campaign websites Gary Black (R) for Agriculture Commissioner Fred Swann (D) for Agriculture Commissioner
Official Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner campaign websites Jim Beck (R) for Agriculture Commissioner Janice Laws (D) for Agriculture Commissioner
Official Commissioner of Labor campaign websites Mark Butler (R) for Labor Commissioner
Official State Superintendent of Schools campaign websites Otha Thornton (D) for State Superintendent Richard Woods (R) for State Superintendent
Official Public Service Commission district 3 campaign websites Chuck Eaton (R) for Public Service Commissioner Lindy Miller (D) for Public Service Commissioner
Official Public Service Commission district 5 campaign websites Tricia Pridemore (R) for Public Service Commissioner Dawn Randolph (D) for Public Service Commissioner