ATLANTA — Qualifying officially began this week for statewide races in the November elections, with a deadline for candidates to officially throw their name in the hat - if they qualify - by Friday.
In most races, those who qualify will appear on the ballot when Georgia has its primary day on May 24. That includes the Peach State's much-watched race for governor.
As qualifying continues through to the deadline on Friday (March 11), 11Alive will continue to update with the qualified candidates in the race for governor.
All listed candidates come for the Georgia Secretary of State's website.
Any candidates who qualify but don't yet appear on the list may have just not yet gone this week to file the paperwork.
Who has qualified as a candidate for governor in Georgia
- Brian Kemp, Republican: Kemp is the incumbent governor of Georgia. He had not earlier featured on this list but went Thursday to officially file his paperwork. He has staked much of his campaign on his stewardship of the Georgia economy through the pandemic.
- Stacey Abrams, Democrat: Abrams was the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2018, losing the race to Gov. Kemp by a little more than 50,000 votes (1.4%). Following the 2018 election she formed the group Fair Fight Action and made voting rights issues her primary public cause.
- David Perdue, Republican: Perdue is a former corporate executive and represented Georgia as a U.S. senator for one term from 2015-2021. He has the backing of former President Donald Trump in the primary race against Gov. Kemp.
- Kandiss Taylor, Republican: From Appling County in south Georgia, Taylor's website lists her campaign theme as "Jesus, Guns and Babies." She ran in the open Senate election in 2020 for the seat eventually won by Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, getting 0.8% of the vote.
- Shane Hazel, Libertarian: Hazel, a UGA grad and Marine Corps veteran, was the Libertarian candidate for Senate in 2020, getting a little more than 2% of the vote.
- Al Bartell, Independent: Bartell also ran in the open 2020 Senate election, one of more than 20 candidates, getting 0.3% support. His website says he is "known for his nonpartisan governance approach, focused on leadership and performance management."