The race to become the next governor in battleground Georgia is hot on the campaign trail as U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff continues the fight to return to Congress.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) is challenging Ossoff (D-GA) while Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson have been joined by allies during their gubernatorial battle.
Their fate will ultimately be decided Tuesday, Election Day. If there is a runoff, it will be held on Dec. 1.
Georgia broke the 2022 midterm in-person early voting record with 2,294,275 early votes tallied, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office said Thursday. Early voting ended Friday.
Here's everything to know as Election Day approaches in Georgia.
Ahead of the primaries in May, businessman Jackson spoke of his humble roots and voiced his desire to "bring business solutions to Georgia just like (President Donald) Trump did."
Bottoms served as Atlanta mayor from 2018-22. The former White House aide decided to try her hand at governor after the 2024 presidential election, she said at a past debate.
Fresh faces entered the gubernatorial race this year due to Gov. Brian Kemp's ineligibility to run for a third term.
Jackson has compared himself to Trump, the real estate mogul who reached the Oval Office.
But Jackson's path differs from Trump's, and the 72-year-old healthcare magnate and investor brings a vastly different persona to his first campaign. Unlike Trump, who was born to wealth, Jackson spent his early years bouncing through foster homes before launching his first company as a young man.
On the campaign trail, he desired to leverage both his similarities and contrasts with the president, a challenge he tackled with buckets of his own campaign cash and a personal story that anchors his appeal to voters.
"I have lived in poverty," Jackson says. "When you have not eaten, you never forget that, and you don't forget the people that are struggling."
Bottoms disputed Jackson's altruistic pitch while campaigning, setting up Tuesday's election as a test of whether an alternate, softer version of conservative billionaire politics can complement or even counter Trump's pugilistic populism in a key swing state.
Jackson joined Trump at a recent rally in Perry, marking his second appearance with the president in the closing stretch of the campaign.
"He's an amazing, really an amazing man with an incredible story," Trump said as he introduced Jackson to the crowd.
Bottoms has found her own ally in former Democratic President Barack Obama, who rallied for Ossoff and Bottoms in Georgia.
"We've got some outstanding candidates," Obama said at the rally. " ... You get to say enough is enough. We're voting for change here in Georgia."
Recently, she gained the backing of the Georgia Muslim Coalition and has been spotted campaigning alongside Ossoff.
Bottoms has publicly criticized Jackson's unwillingness to debate on the main stage, a practice regularly performed by candidates in an effort to sway voters.
Most recently, Bottoms went up against an empty podium after Jackson declined to participate in the Atlanta Press Club's debate. The debate is broadcasted statewide.
The Georgia Recorder on Oct. 12 reported missing the debate series made him the first gubernatorial candidate to do so since 1994.
"Rick Jackson refuses to show up and answer unscripted questions before the public and even before the press," Bottoms told reporters during the debate, "and if he is doing that as a candidate, what is it that we should expect from him if he were ever to be elected as governor? There's no reason he should not have been here tonight."
Alongside ally and current Gov. Brian Kemp, Jackson reportedly told reporters he strived to prioritize Georgia residents, not the media. Kemp joined Jackson on the Atlanta stop of his fly-around tour.
"I have visited thousands of Georgians for the last nine months," Jackson reportedly said on Oct. 12. "I've gone hundreds of places. I've not had one voter ask me a question about debate. That's not what's important to them. What's important to them is affordability, and gas prices going up, and paying bills, and our property taxes, and so forth."
For U.S. senator, Collins is aiming to unseat Ossoff, one of two senators representing Georgia in Congress. He was first sworn into office in January 2021 following a runoff.
He runs on a platform supporting advanced health care for pregnant women and children, mental health care for veterans and funding for historically Black colleges and universities in the state.
A longtime businessman, Collins is co-founder of a trucking company and serves the residents of Georgia's 10th congressional district.
Collins was elected to Congress in 2022, and he's echoed Trump's sentiments about 2020. He declined to recant those views this week when Ossoff pressed him during a debate.
"There was a lot of doubt in that election. Yes, Joe Biden was the president," Collins said, without saying Biden was duly elected.
Trump endorsed Collins days before his June runoff victory over former football coach Derek Dooley. When announcing his decision, Trump complained that Dooley had conceded that Biden was elected legitimately.
Kemp did not endorse Collins until September, and he warned voters during the primary that the congressman could not win in November.
A recent rally visit from Trump was the first time Collins and Jackson appeared together at the same venue this fall. The rally was held in Dalton.
That's a contrast to Ossoff's and Bottoms' multiple joint rallies.
Ossoff said he was "surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here," saying it would remind voters that Trump and his party had pushed policies that have "driven the cost of groceries, fuel and healthcare to their all-time highs," Ossoff said.
The president has played down the intensity of current inflation, claiming that it is under 2 percent and "under control."
Democrats have seized on the discontent, using the same high cost of living that sank them before to pressure vulnerable Republicans and put congressional districts Trump won by even double digits in play.
"Now remember, they promised to lower prices on Day One," Ossoff said at a recent rally in Atlanta. "Instead, under the failed President Donald J. Trump, it costs more than ever in American history to fill up your truck, stock your fridge, visit the doctor or power your home. You work harder and harder, but the treadmill gets faster and steeper and the bills get higher and higher."
During the primaries, Collins was the likely opponent to face Ossoff this election.
The voter registration deadline has passed, and early voting ended Friday. Additionally, the last day to request an absentee ballot was Oct. 23.
Absentee ballots need to be returned before polls close on Election Day to be counted.
Voters have several options for returning the completed ballots.
Voters should go to the My Voter Page to determine their eligibility to vote and to locate their polling place and early voting location. Voters can also confirm their current addresses and view sample ballots.
Georgia's law requires photo ID while voting — either in-person or absentee.
The following identifications are accepted for voting, according to the Secretary of State's office:
Georgia voters can check the Secretary of State's website for races on the ballot in their county.
More information on voting ID requirements, including for absentee ballots, can be found here.
Read more information on voting in Georgia here.
The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing for this article.
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