Qualifying for Georgia’s 2024 election season gets underway

The 2024 election season is officially underway as qualifying for Georgia’s state and federal offices began Monday.

2024 is going to be a busy year with not only the presidential election, but also the majority of the country’s House seats will be up for reelection.

Here in Georgia, district lines have changed, meaning some people will need to run in another district.

Dozens of candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties streamed to the state Capitol on Monday to sign papers and pay their qualifying fees, while those running for nonpartisan posts and as independents lined up across the street to qualify with the secretary of state’s office. Candidates have until noon Friday to sign up.

Parties will decide their nominees in primaries on May 21, the same day Georgia will elect judges and other nonpartisan offices. Runoffs will be held on June 18 for any offices in which a candidate doesn’t win a majority on May 21.

Of the 13 congressional incumbents seeking reelection, 12 quickly qualified on Monday. They included all five Democratic U.S. representatives — the 2nd Congressional District’s Sanford Bishop, the 4th District’s Hank Johnson, the 5th District’s Nikema Williams, the 6th District’s Lucy McBath, and the 13th District’s David Scott. Also qualifying were seven of the eight Republican incumbents seeking election: the 1st District’s Buddy Carter, the 5th District’s Andrew Clyde, the 7th District’s Rich McCormick, the 8th District’s Austin Scott, the 11th District’s Barry Loudermilk, the 12th District’s Rick Allen and the 14th District’s Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Georgia’s 2024 presidential election is likely to be close again. But because of how Republicans drew the congressional districts, none are expected to produce competitive races in November.

That means primaries are likely to determine the winners. With Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who has represented western Georgia’s 3rd District for four terms, not running for reelection, GOP candidates are scrambling to replace him.

Four qualified on Monday, including former state Sens. Mike Crane of Franklin and Mike Dugan of Carrollton, former state Rep. Philip Singleton of Sharpsburg, and former police officer and purchasing manager Jim Bennett of Bowdon. Others are expected to qualify in coming days.

Singleton is touting his record as an outspoken conservative who nettled House leadership during his time in the state legislature and his work as McCormick’s congressional chief of staff.

“Hopes and dreams don’t achieve anything in our form of government,” he said. “You have to we have to do the work.”

Dugan points to his military, business and legislative background.

“It’s a job interview,” he said. “I’m asking the constituents of the 3rd District to hire me.”

McBath is running in her third drastically different district in six years, covering parts of Cobb, Douglas, Fulton and Fayette counties. Republicans also targeted her former district when they redrew lines in 2021. She said she will continue to emphasize lowering drug prices, health care, worker training and gun control.

“We keep having these discussions over and over again, but I’m happy to represent any constituent,” McBath said of her redrawn district. “I’m happy to continue to do the work. And I have decided as I have in every election, I will not let the extremist Republicans determine when my work in Congress is done. I will let the people decide.”

Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson and state Rep. Mandisha Thomas of South Fulton are running against McBath in the Democratic primary.

Scott’s district is sharply different as well, now covering Rockdale County and parts of Clayton, Newton and Gwinnett counties. He’s seeking his 12th term in Congress after facing questions about his health. On Monday, Scott said he wanted to serve another term so he could bolster funding for historically Black agricultural colleges including Georgia’s Fort Valley State University, and to do more for housing assistance.

“Thank God I’m in good health. moving and doing the people’s work,” Scott said.

Marcus Flowers, who made an unsuccessful bid against Marjorie Taylor Greene in northwest Georgia’s 14th District, is running against Scott in the Democratic primary.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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