Episode 31: Tense Times in Texas's Senate Race, with Patrick Svitek of CNN

In the past eight years, Georgia has become a critical battleground state. That’s the case once again this year as the Peach State hosts highly competitive contests for U.S. Senate and governor. To talk about all things Georgia ahead of the state’s May 19 primary election, Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley was joined by Greg Bluestein, the chief political reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They started with Greg’s thoughts on Georgia’s overall political situation (2:31). Greg noted some warning signs for Republicans, including the Democrats’ sweeping victories in a pair of 2025 special elections for Georgia’s Public Service Commission. They then dug into the Senate race, where Sen. Jon Ossoff is the only Democrat seeking reelection in a state that President Donald Trump carried in 2024 (7:20). Republicans have a three-way Senate primary that looks headed to a runoff (13:51). Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins are running, but so is former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who has the backing of outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Collins looks likely to make the prospective runoff, while Carter and Dooley are fighting for the second spot. Should Ossoff defeat the eventual GOP nominee in November, he could be a potential 2028 presidential contender (23:03).Greg and Geoffrey then turned to the gubernatorial race, where both parties have primaries likely to go to runoffs (26:45). In the Republican primary, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has Trump’s endorsement, but healthcare executive Rick Jackson has shaken up the race with at least $83 million in self-funding (28:40). In the Democratic primary for governor, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the favorite (38:04). However, she could find herself in a runoff against one of a number of other Democrats in the race. They closed by talking about the consequences of Georgia’s gubernatorial race as well potential redistricting at a special legislative session (47:56). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decisiondeskhq.substack.com