Georgia 2026 GOVERNOR FORECAST

2026 Georgia Governor Forecast:

The Pollsmax 2026 Georgia Governor forecast currently gives Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms a 57% chance of defeating Republican Rick Jackson. Pollsmax projects Bottoms to receive 50.6% of the vote compared with 49.4% for Jackson, a projected Democratic margin of 1.2 percentage points. The model currently rates the race as Tilt Democratic. The forecast is updated using 100,000 simulations incorporating polling and race fundamentals. See the Pollsmax forecast methodology.

The 2026 Georgia governor election features Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson. The governorship is open and is currently controlled by Republicans. In 2024, Donald Trump won Georgia by 2.2%, and Republicans are expected to narrowly retain the state's governorship in 2026. Georgia's mix of urban, suburban, and rural voters makes the statewide margin especially important in a competitive governor race. A win would be important for Republicans as they try to defend their coalition of 26 governorships going into the midterms.