Qualifying week is Georgia politics at its most theatrical — and most consequential.
For five days, would-be governors, senators and legislative hopefuls stream through the state Capitol to formally stake their claims to power, turning the Statehouse into a political parade.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Atlanta, qualified for reelection, then pivoted to a campaign event outside the State Capitol where he blasted President Donald Trump and U.S. military involvement in Iran.
Qualifying continues today. Check back here for the latest.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins trained most of his fire Tuesday on Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff during his filing-day stop. But he couldn’t resist taking a swipe at a GOP rival.
Asked about former football coach Derek Dooley — who earlier in the day pitched himself as an outsider — Collins pointed to Dooley’s acknowledgment that he rarely voted until recent years.
“I’ve been 30-plus years in the private sector. This is only my second term in Congress. But Republican voters, especially, they not only want to elect Republican candidates, but they also want to elect people that have voted. We’ll make sure that we show the distinction,” Collins said.
The Jackson Republican branded Ossoff “California’s third senator,” accusing him of aligning with “nut jobs” on the left.
“This guy has been on the wrong side of the issues for everything,” Collins said, casting himself instead as a problem-solver. “I know that the people of the state of Georgia just want somebody to go up there and get things done.”
Former football coach Derek Dooley couldn’t resist a gridiron metaphor after filing paperwork to cement his U.S. Senate bid.
“It’s kind of like kickoff for me,” the Republican said. “I've been at it seven months, building the foundation of our campaign. We're mobilized in all 159 counties. We've outraised both sitting congressmen two quarters in a row. And now it’s game time.”
Dooley was referring to U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, his two GOP rivals vying to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Both have edged him in scattered early polls, though a sizable bloc of voters remains undecided.
“The front-runner right now is undecided,” said Dooley, adding he’s “more confident each week that we're in the right lane” as a political newcomer.
“Voters are frustrated with what's going on in Congress," he said. "They see a system that benefits the politicians a lot more than the people, and they're looking for something different, somebody who's from the outside.”
The scramble to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk is accelerating — and the GOP field is starting to take shape.
Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore qualified Tuesday for the solidly Republican seat in northwest Georgia, adding her name to a growing list of contenders.
She joins Rob Adkerson, Loudermilk’s chief aide and his preferred successor, and Dr. John Cowan, the Rome neurosurgeon who lost a 2020 runoff to Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach confirmed he won’t run, narrowing one lane in what could still become a crowded contest before Friday’s noon qualifying deadline.
“This is an incredible time for us to take Georgia values and what we've done right to Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has qualified plenty of times on the GOP side of the Capitol to run for public office. But on Tuesday, he crossed the hall to formally declare he’s running as a Democrat for governor.
Duncan’s path from conservative Republican to outspoken Donald Trump critic to unabashed Democrat has been well documented.
But he reinforced his stance moments after signing his paperwork, arguing he’s the Democrat best positioned to defeat a well-financed, pro-Trump Republican — whoever emerges from the GOP primary.
“Here’s the brutal reality of this: If a Democrat doesn’t win the next governorship in this state, Donald Trump will by default have an office in this Capitol,” he said. “That doesn’t sit well with the majority of Georgians watching this play out day after day, hour after hour on our TV screens. Nobody wants Donald Trump to have a heavy influence in this state, and that includes me.”
He also contended that fellow Democrats aren’t as concerned about his past stances — a record that includes support for dozens of GOP priorities — than on where he stands now.
“Folks aren't asking, ‘Why weren't you a Democrat earlier?’ They're asking, ‘What can you do to help us? How do we win this election for the first time in nearly 30 years?’” he said. “And the answer is: We work hard. We meet Georgians where they're at. We produce real solutions to real problems, and we win this race in November.”
There are entrances — and then there are entrances.
Former state Sen. Jason Esteves made his filing-day arrival through a phalanx of cheering supporters lining a Capitol staircase, chants echoing as he headed to qualify for governor.
After filing his paperwork, the Democrat wasted little time drawing contrasts with his two best-known rivals, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
He said Duncan, a party-switching former Republican, "literally oversaw some of the passage of the worst bills that Georgians have seen in the last decade."
And he accused Bottoms of being absent “at a time when Atlanta was in crisis,” adding that “when she had the opportunity to fix it, decided not to run for re-election.”
Esteves framed his candidacy as a more aggressive response to President Donald Trump.
"Donald Trump is attacking us on a daily basis, destroying our democracy and harming the pocketbooks of people all across the state," said Esteves.
"We can't afford to have folks that will stay silent, nor can we have folks that are going to be absent or quit when the going gets tough."
Shortly after U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff filed to run for reelection, one of his Republican opponents posted a fake image of him online.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' campaign posted an image that falsely depicts Ossoff standing in front of MS-13 gang members, saying they "gathered to support his campaign and his promise to keep illegal criminals in Georgia and on our streets."
Ossoff was in fact standing in front of several elected officials, including House Democratic Leader Carolyn Hugley.
Collins' campaign has previously used artificial intelligence to make fake images of Ossoff. Last year, his campaign created a fake video of Ossoff that appeared to show the Democrat voicing disdain for farmers and recipients of federal food assistance.
Here’s how to spot AI in political ads.
Some arrived with speech drafts in hand and entourages poised to blast out polished social media posts the moment the paperwork was stamped. Others slipped in quietly, intent on filing and getting out with little fanfare.
Elizabeth Edmonds, an advocate with Georgia Life Alliance, opted for something far less subtle. Dressed as the Cat in the Hat from Dr. Seuss in honor of a day commemorating the famed author, she wheeled a suitcase packed with baby dolls — a visual appeal to Republicans to stand firm on abortion limits.
There were moments of levity, too. After submitting her paperwork, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ran into a lesser-known rival in the Democratic governor’s race.
“I’d wish you luck, but I can’t do that,” she told state Rep. Derrick Jackson with a laugh.
Two years ago, Democrat Farooq Mughal faced one of the narrowest losses — just 87 votes — and lost his re-election bid to Buford Republican Sandy Donatucci.
During that campaign, he largely focused on transportation and infrastructure, a consistent concern among voters in the Gwinnett County district that encompasses parts of Lawrenceville, Dacula and Burford.
As he prepared to qualify to run again for House District 105, Mughal said he was again planning to concentrate on those issues. But this time, he was weaving in a message on immigration.
The community is already dealing with heavy traffic, crowded roads and rapid development and adding a federal operation would be completely inappropriate, he said.
"What if an ICE facility blocks your road?" he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Your property value goes down. That matters to people."
Latino, Asian and Black voters, together, make up a majority of the district's population. Mughal is banking on those voters agreeing with his position opposing the construction of new immigration detention centers in the area.
A year ago, state Rep. Esther Panitch was among the most vocal Democratic critics of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff for his votes to limit certain arms sales to Israel amid its war with Hamas.
On Monday, the Sandy Springs Democrat — the only Jewish member of the Georgia General Assembly — stood behind him after he formally qualified to run for another term.
She was blunt about her stance.
“Notwithstanding our disagreements, we still have to work together for the betterment of Georgia, and that's what adults do," she said. "So we could disagree publicly, privately, but at the end of the day, we're still united in bringing the best we can for the state and for the country.”
She added a sharper jab at Republicans: “None of them have a spine to stand up to Donald Trump. If they did, we’d have a different conversation.”
It was planned as a celebratory campaign kickoff — a filing-day ritual with cheering supporters and a nod to the long race ahead.
Instead, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff opened his remarks on a far heavier note.
“We’re here today in wartime,” he said, moments after formally qualifying for reelection, offering condolences to the families of American service members killed and wounded in the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
The Democrat has emerged as one of Georgia’s most outspoken critics of the attacks that began Saturday, calling them “another regime change war-of-choice.” He is backing a war powers resolution he says would “assert the proper authority over war and peace and rein in the administration.”
“Eight months ago, President Trump lied to the country when he falsely claimed to have obliterated Iran’s nuclear program,” Ossoff said. “Now he says he is taking the United States to war for regime change, without evidence of imminent threat, without having exhausted diplomacy, without clear objectives or a plan for the aftermath and without the consent of Congress.”
He added: “2 a.m. posts on Truth Social just aren’t good enough when you’re sending Americans into combat.”