The May 19 Primary Is Over. Here Is What Happened, and What We Do Next.

Polls closed across Georgia on Tuesday, May 19, and the results are in. NGA CAN spent weeks researching and publishing voter guides for Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Forsyth, and Pickens counties, plus every contested statewide race. Now we get to look at what voters decided.

A quick reminder before we dig in: these results are unofficial until counties certify them, and a few statewide races are headed to a runoff on June 16. The primary was never the finish line. It set the field for November. Here is the full recap, and then a clear list of what you can do starting today.

The Top of the Ticket

Governor. On the Democratic side, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the nomination outright, clearing 50 percent and avoiding a runoff. Our statewide guide named Jason Esteves as the most substantively progressive candidate in the field, so this is not the outcome our research pointed to. It is still the outcome, and Bottoms is now the Democratic nominee for governor. On the Republican side, no candidate reached a majority, so Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson advanced to a June 16 runoff.

U.S. Senate. Sen. Jon Ossoff ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and is the nominee. The Republican field did not produce a winner, so Rep. Mike Collins and Derek Dooley advanced to a June 16 runoff. The winner faces Ossoff in November in what will be one of the most watched Senate races in the country.

Statewide Down Ballot Races

This is where the night got complicated, and where your vote still matters in June. Several Democratic statewide races did not produce a majority winner and are headed to a June 16 runoff. Two produced clear winners.

Attorney General. State Rep. Tanya Miller won the Democratic nomination convincingly. Our guide named Miller as the most progressive choice, so this race went the way our research pointed. She is expected to face Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland in November.

State School Superintendent. Lydia Powell, Ed.D., appears to have won the Democratic nomination outright, just clearing the 50 percent threshold according to early returns, pending certification. Our guide named Powell as the most progressive choice. Republican incumbent Richard Woods and Fred "Bubba" Longgreat are headed to a Republican runoff.

Commissioner of Agriculture. Katherine Juhan-Arnold won the Democratic nomination. Our guide presented this as a "pick your priority" race between Juhan-Arnold and Sedrick Rowe, both of whom we considered strong. Juhan-Arnold will face Republican incumbent Tyler Harper in November.

The following Democratic statewide races are going to a June 16 runoff:

• Lieutenant Governor: Josh McLaurin and Nabilah Islam Parkes. Our guide named Parkes as the most progressive choice.

• Secretary of State: Dana Barrett and Penny Brown Reynolds. Our guide named Barrett as one of two top picks for this office.

• Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner: Keisha Sean Waites and DeAndre Mathis. Our guide named Mathis as the most progressive choice.

• Labor Commissioner: Nikki Porcher and Michelle Sanchez. Our guide named Sanchez as the most progressive choice.

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These are statewide races, so every Democratic primary voter in all five of our counties can vote in all four of these runoffs. More on the runoff rules below.

The Courts

Georgia Supreme Court. Both incumbent justices held their seats. Justice Charlie Bethel narrowly defeated challenger Miracle Rankin with just over 51 percent of the vote. Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren defeated challenger Jen Auer Jordan by a wider margin. Justice Ben Land ran unopposed and keeps his seat. Our guide supported Rankin and Jordan as the progressive challengers. These were difficult, uphill races, and the narrow Bethel result shows how close a statewide judicial race can get when a credible challenger runs. That is worth remembering the next time someone tells you a judicial race cannot be contested.

Public Service Commission. In District 3, Commissioner Peter Hubbard ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and is the nominee. He will likely face former Commissioner Fitz Johnson again in November, a rematch of last year's special election that Democrats won. In District 5, Shelia Edwards won the Democratic nomination with close to 56 percent of the vote, defeating Craig Cupid and Angelia Pressley. Our guide named Pressley as the most progressive choice in that race. Edwards is now the Democratic nominee. The PSC math has not changed: if Democrats hold District 3 and win District 5 in November, the commission flips for the first time in over twenty years, and that is the body that sets your Georgia Power bill.

What Happened in Our Five Counties

Here is the most important thing to understand about the local results. In Bartow, Cherokee, Forsyth, and Pickens, almost every Democrat we covered ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. That means those candidates are now officially the Democratic nominees for November. There was no contest to win on May 19. The contest is in the fall.

That is not a small thing. It means the people we researched and wrote about are locked onto the November ballot, and the work of getting them elected starts now, not in October.

Bartow County

Every Democrat in our Bartow guide ran unopposed and is now the Democratic nominee for November: Bella Bautista for State House District 14, Lauren Jones for State House District 15, Andrea Jude for Board of Education District 1, and Willie Coombs for Board of Education District 3. In House District 15, the Bartow County Elections Office had already confirmed that the other filed Democrat was disqualified, so Jones moves forward as the nominee.

Cherokee County

Cherokee had one contested Democratic primary, and it went the way our research pointed. In State House District 20, Jason Tanner won the Democratic nomination with roughly 70 percent of the vote over Erik Zeil, according to unofficial results. Our guide named Tanner as our progressive pick in that race. He will face Republican incumbent Charlice Byrd in November, who held off her own primary challenger.

Cherokee also decided a nonpartisan State Court Judge race. Christopher Lee Bishop defeated Kryss Roch with about 60 percent of the vote, roughly 30,006 votes to 19,767, according to unofficial returns. Our guide noted that neither candidate was a clear progressive and named Bishop as the most progressive of the two, largely because a judge with substantial defense experience brings balance to a court system already tilted toward prosecution.

Every other Democrat we covered in Cherokee ran unopposed and is now the nominee for November: Kori Simmons for State Senate District 21, Anthony Aragues Jr. for State House District 21, Rob Epstein for State House District 23, Dumont Walker for State House District 46, and Steven Rogers for County Commission District 4.

Cobb County

Cobb had the most contested Democratic primaries of any of our counties. Here is how they landed, according to unofficial returns:

• Solicitor General: Makia Metzger won the Democratic nomination with about 78 percent of the vote over Christopher Futch. Our guide named Metzger as our progressive pick. She runs unopposed in November.

• Board of Education Post 4: Micheal Garza won an extremely close Democratic primary over Susan McCartney, roughly 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. Our guide named Garza as our progressive pick. He faces Republican incumbent David Chastain in November. This race is a reminder that a few dozen votes decide real outcomes.

• Board of Education Post 6: Incumbent Nichelle Davis defeated Jennifer Susko by a wide margin. Our guide named Susko as our progressive pick. Davis is the nominee.

• State Senate District 35: Incumbent Jaha Howard won the Democratic nomination with about 66 percent over Erica-Denise Solomon and Elfreda Desvignes. Our guide named Solomon as our progressive pick. Howard has no Republican opponent in November.

• State Senate District 37: Darcy Castro won the Democratic nomination with about 68 percent over Zachary Neville. Our guide named Castro as our progressive pick. She faces Republican incumbent Ed Setzler in November.

• State House District 37: Incumbent Mary Frances Williams won the Democratic nomination with about 74 percent over Graham Bowers. Our guide called this a race between two solid progressive choices. Williams is the nominee with no Republican opponent in November.

• State House District 42: Incumbent Gabriel Sanchez won the Democratic nomination with about 82 percent over Carlos Vilela. Our guide named Sanchez as our progressive pick. He faces Republican Andre Stafford in November.

Kevin Redmon for County Commission District 1 and Rebecca Sayler for Board of Education Post 2 were unopposed Democrats and are the nominees for November.

Forsyth County

Forsyth had one contested Democratic primary we want to flag. In State Senate District 48, Laura Murvartian won the Democratic nomination with about 64 percent over Nathan Hombroek. Our guide called this a race between two solid progressive choices. Murvartian will face Republican incumbent Shawn Still in November.

Every other Democrat in our Forsyth guide ran unopposed and is now the nominee: Jessica Roper for State Senate District 27, Ryan Fountain for State House District 11, Maureen Gault for District 24, Meredith Greene for District 26, Mateo Sanabria for District 28, Jennifer Ambler for District 100, Vincent Wright for County Commission District 1, Shuchita Patel for County Commission District 3, John V. Holder III for Board of Education District 1, and Vishal Srivastava for Board of Education District 5.

Pickens County

In Pickens, Ryan Fountain ran unopposed for the State House District 11 Democratic nomination and Gary St. Lawrence ran unopposed for the State Senate District 51 Democratic nomination. Both are now the November nominees. As our guide noted, every other Pickens County local race appeared only on the Republican primary ballot, because no Democrats filed for those county offices.

Congress

In the U.S. House District 11 Democratic primary, which covers Bartow, Pickens, and parts of Cherokee and Cobb, Chris Harden won the nomination with close to 75 percent of the vote over Barry Wolfert. Our guide named Wolfert as our progressive pick. Harden is now the Democratic nominee and will face the Republican runoff winner in November.

A Word About Our Picks

We publish voter guides because we believe an informed electorate is a stronger one, not because we expect every voter to agree with every pick. Some of our picks won. Some did not. Bottoms won the governor's primary while we made the case for Esteves. Tanya Miller, Lydia Powell, Tanner, Bishop, Metzger, Garza, Castro, and Sanchez all won races where we named them. Solomon, Susko, Wolfert, Rankin, Jordan, and Pressley did not.

That is what an honest guide looks like. We told you who we researched and why, you weighed it against your own values, and you voted. The candidates who won the Democratic nomination are now the nominees, and our job from here is to support the Democratic ticket against Republicans in November. A primary disagreement ends when the primary does.

The June 16 Runoff: You May Need to Vote Again

Four statewide Democratic races are going to a June 16 runoff: Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner, and Labor Commissioner. These are statewide offices, so they will be on the ballot for Democratic voters in every one of our five counties.

One important rule. In Georgia, if you voted in the May 19 Democratic primary, you can vote in the June 16 Democratic runoff. If you voted in the Republican primary in May, you cannot cross over and vote in the Democratic runoff. If you did not vote at all in May, you can choose either party's runoff ballot.

Runoffs are decided by a small, motivated slice of the electorate. Turnout drops sharply between a primary and its runoff, which means your vote is worth even more in June than it was in May. Early voting for the runoff begins June 8. Election Day is June 16. Check your sample ballot and polling place at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov.

What You Can Do Right Now

The primary picked the players. November decides the game. Here is how to plug in this week, not someday.

Canvass with us. Knocking doors is the single highest-value thing a volunteer can do, and we now know exactly which Democratic nominees are on the November ballot in your county. We are organizing canvasses across all five counties through the summer and fall. Find upcoming events and sign up at https://www.ngacan.org/events-calendar and https://www.ngacan.org/start-an-action.

Buy a yard sign directly from a candidate. A yard sign is a small donation and a public signal that it is normal to support these candidates in your neighborhood. In a region where many people assume there is no Democratic option, visibility changes minds. Go to the campaign websites listed in our county voter guides at https://www.ngacan.org/news and order a sign straight from the candidate so your money goes to their field program.

Donate to the nominees. Local and legislative campaigns run on small dollars. Twenty five dollars buys literature. Fifty dollars buys signs. The candidate links in our voter guides take you straight to their donation pages. If you can give to only one race, give to a contested one where your dollars decide whether a campaign can afford to compete.

Vote in the June 16 runoff and bring someone. Mark June 16 on your calendar now. Early voting opens June 8. Then text three friends who vote with you and make sure they show up too. Runoffs are won on turnout.

Help with the Cherokee write-in effort. Several Cherokee County races have no Democratic or progressive candidate on the ballot at all. NGA CAN is recruiting write-in candidates for those uncontested seats, and the filing deadline is September 8. If you live in Cherokee County and have ever thought about running, or you know someone who should, learn more at https://www.ngacan.org/cherokee-write-in-2026.

Join NGA CAN. We are a volunteer led network with about 3,800 newsletter subscribers across Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Forsyth, and Pickens counties, and we are stronger every time someone new gets off the sidelines. Become a member at https://www.ngacan.org/join.

The Bottom Line

May 19 set the ballot. In Bartow, Cherokee, Forsyth, and Pickens, the Democratic nominees are mostly the candidates we researched and many of them ran unopposed, which means they are locked in for November and ready for your help today. In Cobb, voters settled a string of contested primaries. Four statewide races still need your vote on June 16.

The primary is the part where we choose. November is the part where we win or lose. Five months is enough time to knock a lot of doors. Let us get to work.

North Georgia Community Action Network is a volunteer led progressive civic network serving Cherokee, Pickens, Bartow, Forsyth, Cobb, and surrounding Georgia counties. We fight for transparency in government, real access to democracy, and a Georgia where ordinary people, not billionaires and corporations, drive the decisions that affect our lives.