While the World Shifts, Georgia Organizes

Bottoms, Duncan, and Thurmond Take the Debate Stage

11Alive, in collaboration with Nexstar Media Group, held a debate with top Georgia Democrats running for governor this past Wednesday, April 15, 2026. 

It is important to note that 11Alive held strict criteria for its candidates in order to be invited for the debate: they must be legally eligible, actively campaigning with an unmentioned fundraiser threshold, and at least a 5% in a nonpartisan poll. For this reason, Jason Esteeves, at only 4% in the March 1, 2026, Emerson College poll, was consequently disqualified from participating. 

The debate was thus between Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Atlanta mayor, Geoff Duncan, former Republican Lieutenant Governor, and Michael Thurmond, former DeKalb County CEO.. Off the bat, the candidates seemed to agree on most things. Rural and healthcare expansions, repealing Georgia’s six-week heartbeat ban, and affordability. 

All candidates are looking to expand Georgia’s role as the East Coast technology central with labor and apprenticeship programs. Thurmond focused more on tax breaks for working families and senior citizens. Bottoms, on the other hand, spoke to temporarily repealing the gas tax and joining the lawsuit with states such as California, New York, and Oregon in suing the Trump administration for the harm his tariffs have passed onto small businesses. Duncan was a bit less specific, naming Georgia’s rainy day policy and gesturing to a “jump start fund.” However, throughout the affordability conversation, there was little talk of immediate solutions for Georgians suffering today—expanded food assistance, emergency rental aid, utility cost protections, direct pressure on corporate price-gouging, etc. Gas is not the only commodity on the rise.

On the matter of immigration, Bottoms voiced her commitment to responsible collaboration between federal and local law enforcement but maintained that the current nature of ICE lacks intention and thought. Duncan held strong that he would not use state enforcement to assist ICE, naming the lives lost in Minnesota earlier this year. Thurmond, interestingly, argued that current illegal immigrants should be given the chance to access citizenship without deportation, even as he held strong that illegal immigrants with a criminal record should still be deported. 

Each candidate was given a chance to respond to one personalized question. 

Duncan, unsurprisingly, was asked about his time as a former Republican, in which he explained that the more time he spent in the streets with real people, the more he realized how Republican policies were hurting Georgians and thus decided to make the switch. Bottoms was confronted about the state of Atlanta during her time as mayor—the spike in crime, social justice issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She responds by naming the good she had done within the city, namely balancing budgets to avoid property tax increases and creating an affordable housing program. Though she decided not to run for mayor again in 2022, she was proud to serve the White House under Biden. Thurmond, on the other hand, was asked about his age, having been in politics since 1986. He held strong that his long time in politics means that he has a long, strong track record of success. 

The debate, being only an hour long, was quite interesting to watch. Something noticeable in this debate is the lack of specific action plans. There were many good statements, many good stances. But it was quite difficult to grasp the specific plans that differentiate the projected effectiveness of each candidate. And with the Emerson College poll for the Democratic primary showing that a whopping 39% of Georgians are still undecided, one cannot help but wonder what those undecided voters are waiting to hear from their candidates to inspire them one way or the other.

A Turning Point… For the Democrats

On Tuesday, April 14th, JD Vance and Turning Point USA (TPUSA) traveled to Athens, GA to recruit young followers into their organization. Erika Kirk was not in attendance due to incredible “threats” made against her. Surprisingly there were only 1,000 attendees in an arena with a capacity of 8,500. This could be a sign of the times. A sign that Turning Point and Vance are becoming extremely unlikable among their voter base. However, it is important to note that there was little promotion and publicity surrounding this event. 

The Young Democrats of Georgia and other groups around Athens held rallies to protest the actions and sentiments of Turning Point and the Trump administration. Athens has been a place of Trump dissidents for the past year and has held multiple No Kings Rallies. However, these smaller protests alone are not enough to fully counteract the impact of TPUSA.

Democrats across the nation can create momentum if they organize national movements to combat the rise of authoritarianism, especially in younger people. But, as we’ve pointed out in the past, Democrats have thus far struggled to effectively do so. It is important to reach all ages of voters, however, many young voters are excited to vote but are often ignored and left clueless about what candidate to vote for and right-wing organizations like TPUSA take advantage of this. 

This problem has not gone unnoticed. The progressive organization, More Perfect Union, announced an initiative called More Perfect University in an effort to counteract TPUSA on college campuses. With big names like Senator Bernie Sanders and former FTC Chair Lina Khan backing them, we applaud this step by progressives towards meeting young voters where they are at, while pushing back on TPUSA’s lies.

Georgia democrats can use this opportunity to penetrate and reach new voter segments, especially younger voters. This is a special opportunity and advantage for Georgia Democrats to capitalize on. Hopefully, they will do so.

Two Battleground Districts. One Month to Go.

With early voting starting April 27th and the primary on May 19th, two of our top battleground candidates are hitting the doors hard and The 2030 Project was right there with them this past weekend. In HD-99, one of the most diverse Georgia districts, Michelle Kang is running her rematch campaign and canvassing neighborhoods in Suwanee, Duluth, and Sugar Hill to build the kind of multilingual, neighbor-to-neighbor relationship that closes 621-vote gaps. In HD-53, Beth Fuller, a public health expert and lifelong Georgian whose CDC contract was cut by the Trump administration, is taking that story directly to voters in Sandy Springs and Roswell, making the case that this district deserves a representative who actually shows up. Both campaigns have volunteer events running every weekend between now and May 19th. Here's how you can help:

→ Canvass or phone bank with Michelle in HD-99 here.

→ Canvass or phone bank with Beth in HD-53 here.

Every door knocked between now and May 19th matters. These races are won in the margins  and we've seen exactly what those margins look like. And stay tuned because next week we'll be announcing our third endorsed candidate for 2026.