Georgia’s midterm election reaches its final day of campaigning Monday with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff defending a nationally important seat against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, an open governor’s race and a Richmond County ballot that extends well beyond the statewide campaigns.
Voting Tuesday will determine whether Ossoff returns to Washington and whether Republican Rick Jackson or Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms succeeds Gov. Brian Kemp. In Augusta, voters also will choose a member of Congress, state legislators and school-board members in the districts holding elections. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Eastern. Source
A Senate seat with consequences beyond Georgia
Ossoff is the only Democratic senator seeking reelection this year in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024. That makes Georgia a potential Republican pickup as the party defends its Senate majority. Republicans entered the election with 53 seats; with the vice president’s tie-breaking vote, they can lose three and retain control, the Associated Press reported October 30. Source
The campaigns have operated with sharply different financial resources. AP reported Ossoff had raised about $137 million through October 14, compared with about $11 million for Collins. Collins also has received outside-group support. Source
The policy disagreements have been concrete. During their October 8 debate, Collins blamed policies associated with former President Joe Biden for rising living costs; Ossoff argued Trump’s tariffs were driving prices higher. Each offered a different explanation for the pressure on household budgets rather than disputing that voters were feeling it, according to WABE’s debate coverage. Source
On data centers, Collins said communities should decide whether they want the facilities and should have their infrastructure protected. Ossoff said households and small businesses should not subsidize the facilities’ electricity consumption. The candidates also voiced privacy concerns about automated license-plate readers: Ossoff called for federal privacy legislation, while Collins said access to the information should require a warrant. Source
Health care produced another divide. Ossoff criticized Medicaid reductions; Collins blamed the Affordable Care Act for higher costs and cited support for rural hospitals. Source
Immigration remained a central dispute at their October 13 debate. Collins emphasized strict enforcement and his sponsorship of the Laken Riley Act. Ossoff, who voted for that legislation, defended enforcement directed at people who commit crimes while criticizing the administration’s tactics and arguing that parts of the law were too broad, Georgia Recorder reported. Source
The same debate exposed a foreign-policy difference. Collins defended military action in Iran as protecting Americans from a nuclear threat. Ossoff challenged the administration’s justification for the war. Source
A new governor after Kemp
Kemp cannot seek another consecutive term. Jackson, the founder of Jackson Healthcare and a first-time candidate, is running as a conservative businessman. Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor and Biden administration adviser, is seeking to return the governor’s office to Democratic control. Source
Their affordability agendas overlap in subject but differ in approach. WABE reported October 21 that Jackson was campaigning on reducing income, property and sales taxes. Bottoms’ proposals included property-tax relief, a gas-tax reduction and allowing local governments to waive grocery sales taxes. Source
Both have discussed expanding Medicaid coverage. Bottoms has made expansion a central campaign issue; Jackson has advocated what he calls an “intelligent” expansion, with fewer specifics reported about its design. Source
The Augusta ballot is not just the statewide ticket
Richmond County’s official composite lists Republican incumbent Rick W. Allen against Democrat Ceretta Smith in U.S. House District 12. It also lists two state Senate districts, five state House districts and school-board races in Districts 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9. Which district contests a voter receives depends on the registered address. Source
One local detail is easy to miss: School Board District 3 has two separate contests, with the same four candidates. One is the regular election; the other fills the unexpired term of Walter H. Eubanks, who died. Three constitutional amendments address conservation-use acreage, nonpartisan probate-judge elections and emergency 9-1-1 funding. Source
The guide below lists every office and question on the county’s official November composite and links to the address-specific ballot. Early voting ended October 30. Tuesday voters must use their assigned Election Day location, not simply return to an early-voting center.
Richmond County voter guide
Where and when to vote
Tuesday’s hours are 7 a.m.–7 p.m. If you are in line by 7 p.m., stay in line: you may still vote. Advance voting ended Friday, October 30, and there is no advance voting Monday, November 2. Do not assume the location you used for early voting is your Election Day precinct.
Check your assigned polling location and sample ballot: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/
Browse Richmond County’s polling-place addresses: https://www.augustaga.gov/1117/Polling-Place-Information
Bring an accepted photo ID. Georgia accepts more than a current driver’s license; the Secretary of State’s identification page lists the options. For registration, precinct or ballot questions, contact the Richmond County Board of Elections at 706-821-2340.
The races on Richmond County’s November ballot
The following list covers every office printed on the county’s two-page official November 3 composite ballot. R means Republican; D means Democrat. Incumbency follows the ballot. Names are listed in ballot order, not preference. A single printed name does not eliminate the need to review that contest; write-in lines appear in most races.
Statewide contests
U.S. Senate: Mike Collins (R); Jon Ossoff (D, incumbent).
Governor: Rick Jackson (R); Keisha Lance Bottoms (D).
Lieutenant governor: Greg Dolezal (R); Josh McLaurin (D).
Secretary of state: Tim Fleming (R); Penny Brown Reynolds (D).
Attorney general: Brian Strickland (R); Tanya Miller (D).
Agriculture commissioner: Tyler Harper (R, incumbent); Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold (D).
Insurance commissioner: John King (R, incumbent); Keisha Sean Waites (D).
State school superintendent: Richard Woods (R, incumbent); Lydia Powell (D).
Labor commissioner: Bárbara Rivera Holmes (R, incumbent); Nikki Porcher (D).
Public Service Commission District 3: Fitz Johnson (R); Peter Hubbard (D, incumbent).
Public Service Commission District 5: Josh Tolbert (R); Shelia Edwards (D).
Both Public Service Commission contests are included on Richmond County’s composite, despite the district numbers in their titles. Do not confuse those numbers with your state legislative or school-board district.
Congress and the Georgia legislature
U.S. House District 12: Rick W. Allen (R, incumbent); Ceretta Smith (D).
Georgia Senate District 22: Harold V. Jones II (D, incumbent).
Georgia Senate District 23: Max Burns (R, incumbent); Shayna Boston (D).
Georgia House District 126: William C. Harris (R); L.C. Myles Jr. (D, incumbent).
Georgia House District 127: Mark Newton (R, incumbent); Channing Von-T Taylor (D).
Georgia House District 129: Karlton L. Howard (D, incumbent).
Georgia House District 130: David Carson (R); Sheila Clark Nelson (D).
Georgia House District 132: Brian L. Prince (D, incumbent).
The state Senate and House races vary by residence. Richmond County’s composite includes two Senate districts and five House districts; voters do not vote in all of them.
School board and conservation district
School Board District 2: Charlie Hannah (incumbent); RaShaun Holiday.
School Board District 3 — regular term: Kenyatta Brown; Bartley Payne; Janice Ramirez; Carol J. Yancy.
School Board District 3 — special election: Kenyatta Brown; Bartley Payne; Janice Ramirez; Carol J. Yancy.
School Board District 6: Edward Ed Lowery (incumbent); Charles “Chuckie” Williams.
School Board District 7: Lisa Martin.
School Board District 9: Venus D. Cain (incumbent); Thomas Gardiner; Delvin T. Howard; Brad Owens.
Brier Creek Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor: Charles “Charlie” Byrd (incumbent).
District 3 deserves a second look. The ballot has a regular school-board election and a separate special election to fill the unexpired term of Walter H. Eubanks, who died. The same four candidates appear in both. They are distinct contests, not a printing mistake.
School-board contests depend on your district. This is an Augusta–Richmond County guide, not a Columbia County ballot guide. Readers across the county line should use their own My Voter Page ballot rather than this district list.
Three constitutional questions
The November composite contains three statewide constitutional amendments. In the order printed on the ballot:
1. Conservation-use acreage. Would increase the maximum acreage eligible for bona fide conservation-use assessment and taxation from 2,000 to 4,000 acres.
2. Probate judges. Would require all probate court judges to be elected in nonpartisan elections.
3. Emergency 9-1-1 funding. Would authorize lawmakers to dedicate certain existing revenues, including revenues reallocated by law, to a nonlapsing fund exclusively for expanding, maintaining and operating emergency 9-1-1 systems.
A yes vote approves the proposed change; a no vote rejects it. Read the full wording before voting. The county’s November composite does not contain the SPLOST question that appeared on its May primary sample ballot; an old sample ballot is not a substitute for this election’s version.
Still holding an absentee ballot
For ordinary domestic absentee ballots, the deadline is receipt by the county elections office at 7 p.m. Tuesday, not a November 3 postmark. The Secretary of State says voters may hand-deliver their completed ballot to the county elections office. Richmond County’s office is at 535 Telfair Street, Suite 500, Augusta.
Do not rely on an Election Day drop-box visit: Georgia’s drop boxes are available only during designated advance-voting hours. Military and overseas voters have separate rules. If you have an unreturned absentee ballot and want to vote in person instead, ask election officials about cancellation and the correct procedure rather than trying to cast both.
Official links
Official Richmond County November composite ballot: https://www.augustaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21864/Composite-Sample-Ballot-Nov-2026
Richmond County election notice: https://www.augustaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21833/PRESS-RELEASE
Find your assigned precinct and personal ballot: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/
County polling-place address list: https://www.augustaga.gov/1117/Polling-Place-Information
Georgia voting guide and closing-time rule: https://sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/how-guide-voting
Georgia absentee deadline reminder dated October 29: https://sos.ga.gov/news/secretary-raffensperger-reminds-voters-absentee-ballots-deadline
Accepted photo identification: https://sos.ga.gov/page/georgia-voter-identification-requirements
Official constitutional amendment summaries: https://www.augustaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21852/2026-Constitutional-Summaries-booklet-FINAL
AP via WABE, October 30 — statewide election context: https://www.wabe.org/what-to-expect-in-georgia-on-election-day-2/
WABE, October 8 — first Senate debate: https://www.wabe.org/ossoff-collins-face-off-in-first-georgia-senate-debate/
Georgia Recorder via WABE, October 14 — second Senate debate: https://www.wabe.org/collins-ossoff-clash-in-a-second-heated-us-senate-debate/
WABE, October 21 — governor candidates and platforms: https://www.wabe.org/bottoms-jackson-enter-homestretch-of-georgia-governors-race/