Ups, Downs and In-betweens
More Candidates: The roster of candidates seeking to become Georgia’s next governor is growing longer, promising to shake up the heated race even more. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced his candidacy one day after former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. And in late September, State Rep. Ruwa Romman launched her campaign.
Raffensperger has served as Georgia’s secretary of state since 2019. A Republican, he is known nationally for defying President Donald Trump’s calls to help overturn the 2020 presidential election results for the state.
A former Republican, Duncan switched parties in August 2025 and is now running as a Democrat in the gubernatorial race. Romman, also a Democrat, is the first Muslim woman elected to the state House.
The three join an already crowded field, with Republicans Attorney General Chris Carr, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Transwestern’s Transaction Sciences Group founder Clark Dean, medical device inventor and biotech executive Gregg Kirkpatrick and activist Leland Olinger campaigning for the state’s top job, along with Democrats former state Labor Commissioner and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, former pastor and business owner Olu Brown and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Healthcare Extension: Originally set to expire in September 2025, Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program got a reprieve with a one-year extension from the federal government. The program, Georgia’s approach to Medicaid that first launched in July 2023, requires recipients to prove that they work, volunteer or take classes 80 hours a month.
The state made modifications to increase the number of those covered, which sat at 9,175 people enrolled as of August 2025, well short of the state’s initial projection of 47,000. They include requiring people to report annually rather than monthly about their work and other qualifying activities, and adding two new qualifying categories: parents of children under the age of 6 do not have to work or engage in other activities if the child is enrolled in Medicaid, and childless, able-bodied adults can meet the requirements by complying with the rules of other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP.)
Principal Chief David Hill of the Muscogee Nation speaks during a gathering at the Springer Opera House on Sept. 15, 2025, in Columbus. Photo credit: Mike Haskey/Ledger-Enquirer
Strengthening Ties: The city of Columbus continues to strengthen ties with the Muscogee Nation, first passing a resolution in February acknowledging the city’s land originally belonged to the Muscogee people and now providing the Native American tribe a permanent office in the new city hall complex.
More than 20,000 citizens of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation were forcibly relocated to what is now Oklahoma in the 1830s, during the period known as the Trail of Tears, and thousands died during the journey. Now, the Muscogee Nation has about 106,000 citizens.
Special Election: A special election is slated for Nov. 18 to fill the seat vacated by former state Sen. Jason Esteves. (D-Atlanta), who resigned to run for governor. District 35, where he formerly served, covers parts of Cobb and Fulton counties. Six people have put their names in the ring: Democrats Jaha Howard, a former Cobb County School Board member; Erica-Denise Solomon, a consultant and former journalist; John Daryl Williams; and Roger Bruce, who was first elected to the state House in 2003 and served until 2024. Republican Joshua Tolbert, an engineer, and Corenza Morris, a Georgia Army National Guard veteran who is running as an independent, round out the list of candidates.
Republican Jason Dickerson. Photo credit: Contributed
Ruling Upheld: In September, the Supreme Court of Georgia declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that Brunswick could not be sued for removing a Confederate monument from Hanover Square years ago. The Glynn County Superior Court ruling in March stated that the suit was barred by sovereign immunity, a common law doctrine that states a government cannot be sued without it granting permission or waiving its immunity. The affirmation of the lower court’s ruling likely puts the matter to rest. The statue, which had been on display since 1902, was removed in 2022 and is now in storage.
Runoff Results: Republican Jason Dickerson defeated Democrat Debra Shigley in a September runoff to represent District 21. The seat was vacated by former state Sen. Brandon Beach, who resigned to serve as U.S. treasurer in May. Shigley had finished first in the August special election – held as a “jungle primary” with all candidates running on a single ballot regardless of party affiliation. But with around 40% of the vote, she did not clear the margin to avoid a runoff. In September Dickerson received 61.5% of the votes, ensuring Republicans maintain hold of the seat that covers parts of Cherokee and North Fulton counties.
