And they’re off to the races.
Ballots for the May 19 General Primary and Nonpartisan General elections were determined Friday afternoon following the close of the weeklong candidate qualifying process for local, state and federal office.
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As this is a mid-term election year, only three local seats are up for grabs in 2026, all of them on the Union County Board of Education, specifically Districts 2, 4 and 5 that are currently held by Tony Hunter, Jason McCarter and Patrick White, respectively.
Seven total candidates – all Republicans – qualified for the three School Board positions, meaning whoever wins their primary in May will not face a Democratic opponent in November. This will pave the way for General Election results to be known this spring.
Four candidates qualified for District 2, including Incumbent Hunter, who is facing challenges from fellow qualifiers Holly Scarlett Jones, Naveela Philbeck and John Samuel Davis IV.
District 4 features two qualified candidates: Amy Bell Henson and Jonathan Alan Cook, with Incumbent McCarter deciding not to seek a re-election bid.
Incumbent White was the lone qualifier for the District 5 seat, giving him a solid hold on the Suches-based School Board post for at least another four years.
In state races, Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley qualified unopposed for the Republican Primary, and since no Democrats came forward, Langley is clear to coast to four more years in office. The Enotah Circuit encompasses Union, Towns, Lumpkin and White counties.
For Enotah Superior Court Judge, Incumbent Buck Levins of Union County is asking voters to support him for another term, though he will face a Nonpartisan General Election challenge from Kerry Banister Morris, a White County-based attorney.
The Enotah Superior Court Judgeship currently held by Raymond George is also up for election this year, with George choosing not to qualify for an additional term.
No stranger to the circuit, current Enotah Juvenile Court Judge Jeremy Clough of White County is one of two hopefuls vying to succeed George as Superior Court Judge, and Lumpkin County attorney Elise Hoyle is running to do the same.
In the Georgia General Assembly, District 8 State Rep. Stan Gunter, the Republican incumbent from Union County, does not have any primary competition. But come November, Gunter will face Democrat Nick Mitchell of White County, who also qualified unopposed for his primary.
The District 51 State Senate seat currently held by Steve Gooch will be getting a new occupant starting next year, as Gooch has thrown his hat into the ring for the Lieutenant Governor’s race.
District 51 qualifiers include a single Democrat, Gary St. Lawrence of Union County, and three Republicans: John Philip Milam of Gilmer County; Steve Shaw of Lumpkin County; and William Solomon Wade of Dawson County.
At the federal level, Georgia’s 9th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, the multi-term incumbent who represents much of Northeast Georgia, has competition in both the Republican Primary and General Election.
Hall County Republicans Joel Gregory Poole and Warren Samuel Couvillon are taking Clyde on for their party’s nomination, and whichever Republican wins in May will face the victor of the Democratic Primary between Caitlyn Gegen of Gwinnett County and Nick Alex of Rabun County in November’s deciding contest.
For U.S. Senate, Incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff has qualified unopposed in his primary.
However, five candidates are looking for a chance to unseat Ossoff if they can clear the Republican Primary this May: Derek Dooley of Rabun County; Earl L. “Buddy” Carter of Glynn County; John Francis Coyne III of Fulton County; Jonathan McColumn of Houston County; and Michael Allens Collins Jr. of Butts County.
There are plenty of other offices with qualifiers, particularly at the state level, including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, multiple levels of judgeship, and more.
For a full breakdown of qualifying candidates, visit https://sos.ga.gov/candidate-qualifying-elected-office.
As noted above, all political party candidates who succeed in the May 19 primaries will advance as nominees to the Nov. 3 General Election to square off against rivals from opposing parties.
For the Nonpartisan General, those results should be final after the May 19 election barring the necessity for runoffs in races featuring three or more candidates.
The deadline to register to vote on May 19 is April 20, and the deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 5.
