2024 election: These are the key races to watch in Georgia
Here's what you need to know about the "hot races" in the Peach State.
Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day, and it's fast approaching. Georgians continue to head to the polls to cast their ballots for the 2024 Presidential Election.
With the election, voters will decide who will succeed President Joe Biden and become the 47th President of the United States. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump head the ticket.
However, presidential candidates aren't the only positions voters will have to decide on Election Day. Depending on the county you live in, you could also vote for new or incumbent sheriffs, judges, district attorneys, and school board members.
Below are the "hot races" 11Alive is watching on Election Night. The races are listed in the order in which the candidates appear on the ballot.
RELATED: 11Alive 2024 election county-by-county voter guide | Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb and Clayton
Before we get to the ballot - why are the Republicans listed on top?
Georgia Code § 21-2-285 regulates the regulations state and local officials must follow when writing an official election ballot. According to the law, Republicans appear at the top of every race because party candidates must be listed "in the descending order of the totals of votes cast for candidates of the political parties for Governor at the last gubernatorial election."
When Gov. Brian Kemp won re-election in 2022, he also won the right for all the candidates of his party—the Republican Party—to appear at the top of races on this year's ballot.
President of the United States
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have frequently visited the Peach State ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election. Both have embraced wildly different campaign strategies in their race for the White House.
Below are the presidential candidates and their vice presidential running mates.
- Donald J. Trump: President & JD Vance: Vice President- Republican
- Kamala D. Harris: President & Tim Walz: Vice President- Democrat
- Chase Oliver: President & Mike ter Maat: Vice President- Libertarian
- Jill Stein: President & Rudolph Ware: Vice President- Green
Click on the interactive graphic to learn more about the candidates.
It's important to note that two other candidates — independent Cornel West and the Party for Socialism and Liberation's Claudia De la Cruz appear on Georgia ballots as presidential candidates, but their votes won't be counted after the state Supreme Court ruled they didn't properly qualify.
Fulton County District Attorney
Attorney Courtney Kramer is challenging incumbent Fani Willis in the Fulton County District Attorney's race. Meanwhile, Willis is seeking reelection as Fulton County's top prosecutor.
- Courtney Kramer - Republican
According to Kramer's website, she worked in the Office of White House Counsel under Trump in 2018 and was also a law clerk for the American Center for Law and Justice.
Back in May, 11Alive caught up with Kramer. She spoke about what separated her from Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
"Fulton County has not had a Republican qualify for district attorney in 30 years," Kramer previously said, adding that she hasn't seen a GOP candidate for the role in her lifetime. "Fulton County hasn't had a voice for who their next DA is going to be."
- Fani T. Willis - (Incumbent) Democrat
According to Willis' website, she took office on January 1, 2021, as the first woman to serve as the District Attorney of Fulton County.
For years now, Willis has been investigating the 2020 Georgia election interference case involving Trump and other high-profile co-defendants despite efforts to remove her from the case.
Earlier in October, Willis asked the State Court of Appels to reinstate six criminal charges against Trump and the other co-defendants.
US House District 3
Republican nominee Brian Jack and Democratic candidate Maura Keller are running in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 3. Republican Drew Ferguson currently represents District 3 and is retiring after serving four terms in Congress.
- Brian Jack- Republican
Jack, a Fayette County native, served as White House Political Director while Trump was president and has been a senior advisor on Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
When asked during a debate earlier in October whether there was anything on which he differed with Trump—such as how Trump responded when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021—Jack instead emphasized that voters should view electing him and Trump as a package deal to return to Trump’s policies on economic issues, immigration and public safety.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together,” Jack said.
- Maura Keller- Democrat
Keller is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Fayetteville resident. She is running on a platform of abortion rights, better veterans services and higher wages.
“I am a common-sense candidate with common-sense policies, and I am respectfully asking for your vote,” Keller said during the debate. “Unlike my opponent — he only cares about one person, and that is Donald Trump and the extreme agenda that he has — I have been here for 28 years and I will make sure that my priority focus is you.”
US House District 6
Republican candidate Jeff Criswell and Congresswoman Lucy McBath are facing off for the U.S. House Georgia 6th District seat.
- Jeff Criswell - Republican
According to Criswell's campaign website, he is new to politics and is "a conservative leader who will bring a common-sense, centrist perspective to Georgia's 6th Congressional District."
Criswell grew up in Washington, D.C., and later moved to Atlanta. His campaign website states that he wants to run to "reclaim our government from smug elites who are hopelessly detached from everyday life. "
- Lucy McBath - (Incumbent) Democrat
McBath is running for reelection, but this time in another district. Following new redistricting maps, McBath will be running in Georgia's 6th district, not the 7th, which she currently represents in office.
McBath was first elected to Congress in 2018 and has served three terms, winning reelection in two different districts after the district maps were changed.
She lost her son Jordan in a Jacksonville, Florida, shooting in November 2012. As a member of Congress, she has supported laws on expanding background checks and has made gun control and reducing gun violence her primary focus.
US House District 7
Incumbent Rich McCormick, R and Democratic candidate Bob Christian are running against each other for Georgia's redrawn 7th District seat.
- Rich McCormick - (Incumbent) Republican
McCormick is a Marine veteran and ER physician. He endorsed Donald Trump for president and was elected in 2023 to represent Georgia's 6th congressional district in Washington. McCormick is now vying to continue representing Georgia in the newly drawn 7th district.
Back in September, 11Alive anchor Faith Jessie spoke with McCormick in a 1:1 interview for The Georgia Vote. McCormick emphasized the need for cheaper, efficient energy production to drive economic growth and reduce prices.
“Nothing drives business like energy. Energy, cheap energy, and the production of energy are what drive the economy. And when people don't have that, it affects everybody,” McCormick previously said. “Just getting to your job, actually, not being able to pay for groceries or pay for medications, those sorts of things matter to people. That's what we're trying to make people aware, that we can produce this energy cheaper and more efficiently than other countries, it would drive the prices down."
- Bob Christian - Democrat
Christian is a U.S. Army veteran and a small business owner who has worked in restaurant management.
In 2022, Christian and McCormick met to debate at the Atlanta Press Club. During the debate, 11Alive reporter Joe Ripley asked Christian about how he would describe the state of the economy and, if elected, how he would work to fight historic record-high inflation.
"Inflation is a huge problem in our country," Christian previously said in part. "While we are seeing a record level of inflation in the country, we are also seeing a record level of profits among our corporate entities. And we have to start to address the problem in a multitude of different ways-- shortening our supply chains because Georgia produces over five billion eggs a year, so we should be able to very quickly bring down those costs and talk to our corporate entities about the prices that they set."
US House District 14
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Democratic challenger Shawn Harris are battling for Georgia's 14th District seat.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene- (Incumbent) Republican
Greene was first elected to Georgia's 14th district in 2020 and was reelected in 2022. While many are drawn to her national political presence, others have criticized her for her extreme rhetoric.
Greene, who is closely aligned with Trump, recently posted false accusations online that Democrats caused Hurricane Helene, which ripped its way through the Southeast in September.
Greene also led the unsuccessful charge to oust Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who resists the party’s far-right voices. When she promised the Dallas, Georga, crowd that she would try to elect a different speaker, an audience member said, “Why don’t you run?”
“Oh, honey, they wouldn’t have liked me,” Greene said. “The people would, but not a bunch of those people up there. That’s a swamp we’re talking about.”
- Shawn Harris- Democrat
Meanwhile, Harris, a retired Army General and farmer, faces an uphill battle in Georgia’s 14th District. Harris believes people in his district deserve more.
“I have concrete things that I plan to do and bring back to the district,” Harris said. “Marjorie has been up for three and a half years and can’t point to anything that she has actually done.”
Harris, who grew up in a house on a dirt road in southwest Georgia, said he wants to improve services for veterans and seniors, expand health care, build mental health facilities and generate jobs by bringing a freight hub to the district. Even if he loses, running would have been worth it.
“Many of us in northwest Georgia are coming from less fortunate means, but your zip code does not define who you want to be,” Harris said. “That is the young person that I’m trying to motivate.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
11Alive is committed to helping you vote confidently by understanding the 2024 election issues that impact you. Our goal is to educate and inform our audience about the election process. We plan to do that by verifying facts, providing context, and explaining the system. Get more election resources here at /vote.