Election-night report based on results checked at 9:38 p.m. EST, Nov. 3, 2026.
Democrats have won Georgia’s two marquee statewide contests, pairing Keisha Lance Bottoms’ victory for governor with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection as early national results raise the possibility of a Democratic wave.
The Associated Press called the governor’s race for Bottoms over Republican Rick Jackson at 9:24 p.m., following its 7:55 p.m. call for Ossoff over Republican Mike Collins. The governor’s office changes parties; the Senate seat stays Democratic.
Vote counting continues, and election officials have yet to certify the results.
Georgia’s biggest change is at the top
Bottoms’ victory ends Republican control of the Governor’s Mansion dating to Sonny Perdue’s 2002 election. The former Atlanta mayor becomes the first Black woman elected governor in the United States, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The result changes the stakes for the rest of Georgia’s ballot. Control of the legislature will help determine what the next governor can accomplish, and the statewide wins do not settle those contests.
The AJC’s live coverage described the lieutenant governor’s race as still too close to call and legislative control as uncertain. Its results page showed Democrats leading several other statewide contests, but those incomplete totals are not additional confirmed victories.
National gains suggest a wave, with the outcome still taking shape
North Carolina supplies the clearest early evidence of Democratic gains beyond Georgia. AP called Roy Cooper’s Senate victory at 8:23 p.m., flipping a Republican-held seat, and Jamie Ager’s win in the 11th Congressional District at 8:53 p.m., another pickup.
Democrat Chris Pappas held New Hampshire’s Senate seat. AP also called governor’s races for Democrats Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania and Kathy Hochul in New York. Republicans retained Florida’s governorship with Byron Donalds and Kentucky’s Senate seat with Andy Barr, according to AP’s election coverage.
The Democratic pickups and holds point toward a possible wave, with the size of the gains still taking shape. Control of Congress remains unsettled as counting continues.
In the Augusta area, the count tells a more mixed story
Georgia’s 12th Congressional District illustrates why statewide results cannot stand in for local ones. At the 9:38 p.m. check, the AJC’s results page showed Republican Rick Allen leading Democrat Ceretta Smith, 118,582 votes to 112,131, with 82% of estimated votes counted. Counting was still underway, and those totals remained unofficial.
For Augusta-area readers, the next questions are which other statewide offices change hands, who controls the General Assembly and how the remaining congressional and local races finish. Follow the GCG election tracker for continuing coverage.