ATLANTA – Political analysts on Georgia Gang offered differing perspectives Wednesday morning as they broke down the results of Georgia’s primary elections and looked ahead to several high-profile runoff races.

Georgia Primary Election: The winners, the losers, the runoffs

Outsider candidates can sometimes succeed

Republican commentator Phil Kent said outsider candidates can sometimes succeed with the right messaging and turnout strategy, but noted campaign money and voter mobilization remain critical factors in statewide races. Kent pointed to President Donald Trump’s influence in Republican politics, highlighting the strong showing by Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones despite heavy spending against him.

Democratic strategist Molita Easter said Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff enters the general election with what she described as a strong record, while characterizing Republican Senate contenders Derek Dooley and Mike Collins as closely aligned with Trump. Easter also cited concerns about inflation, healthcare costs and the war overseas as issues affecting voters statewide.

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Political advertising during primary campaign

The panel also discussed the expensive Republican governor’s race and the volume of political advertising seen during the primary campaign. Easter questioned whether voters could become fatigued by constant campaign ads and major spending, while Kent argued Republican turnout patterns continue to favor candidates with strong support north of Interstate 20.

Kent said he believes public safety and law enforcement will become major issues in the fall gubernatorial campaign involving former Keisha Lance Bottoms. He criticized Bottoms’ handling of unrest in Atlanta during 2020 and questioned how that record would affect her statewide campaign.

Easter responded that candidates are not obligated to seek reelection and defended Bottoms’ decision not to pursue a second term as mayor of Atlanta. She also argued Bottoms benefited from strong name recognition during the Democratic primary and suggested some Republican voters may have crossed over to vote in the Democratic contest. Kent said he did not believe crossover voting significantly impacted the outcome.

Surprised by John F. Kennedy

The analysts also weighed in on the lieutenant governor’s race. Kent said he was surprised state Sen. John F. Kennedy advanced to a Republican runoff with state Sen. Greg Dolezal and suggested Kennedy’s name recognition may have helped him. Easter said she is closely watching the Democratic runoff between Josh McLaurin and Nabilah Islam Parkes, noting McLaurin’s debate experience could become a factor in the race.

Additional surprises

During a separate discussion about down-ballot races, Kent said the Public Service Commission contests and Secretary of State race produced several surprises, including Vernon Jones advancing to a Republican runoff for Secretary of State. He also described Brian Strickland’s attorney general primary performance as decisive.

Competitive Democrats

Easter highlighted several Democratic congressional candidates she believes could be competitive in November, including Mara Keller and Caitlyn Gaggan. She argued some Republican-held districts may become more competitive despite President Trump carrying those areas in previous elections.

The race for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor is headed to a runoff, according to a race called by the Associated Press.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will face off against healthcare executive Rick Jackson on June 16. The result advanced two candidates who aligned closely with President Trump over two others, who had opposed his attempts to overturn Georgia’s outcome in the 2020 presidential election.

Jones, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2023, is endorsed by Trump, whom he has backed since early in Trump’s first run for president. Federal prosecutors investigated Jones for allegedly serving as a fake elector in a scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, but declined to charge him in 2024.

While Jackson, owner of a healthcare company, is not endorsed by Trump, he has closely aligned himself with the president, and has compared himself to him as a fellow billionaire.

Jackson and Jones have spent millions of dollars on TV attack ads against each other since Jackson entered the race at the beginning of this year.

The primary tested the strength of Trump’s endorsement and the MAGA base in Georgia. Trump lost Georgia by about 11,000 votes in 2020 and won the state in 2024.

Georgia, which has a Republican-controlled state government and two Democratic U.S. senators, will be a key state in November and could help decide the balance of parties in the Senate. Meanwhile the primary elections for governor serve as a temperature check for what each party’s voters are prioritizing.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and state Attorney General Chris Carr also ran on the Republican ticket for governor, but did not win enough votes to advance to the runoff. Raffensperger and Carr took a less Trump-centric approach to their campaigns. Carr in campaign ads described himself as a “Brian Kemp Republican,” after Georgia’s Republican governor, who has at times been at odds with Trump.

Raffensperger famously butted heads with Trump in 2020, when Trump asked him to “find” about 11,000 votes to help him win the state. Carr, as attorney general, had also supported the state’s vote results, which went to Joe Biden.

Georgia voters are also waiting for results in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and the Republican Senate primary.  Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff was unopposed for his party’s nomination as he runs for a second term in November.

On the Democratic side of the governor’s race, primary voters are choosing between former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is endorsed by former President Joe Biden, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who was a Republican but became a Democrat, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, and former labor commissioner Michael Thurmond.

The top vote-getters from that race can provide a glimpse into the divide between moderate and progressive Democrats in the state.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Sarah Kallis covers politics at GPB.