(Georgia Recorder) — The Democratic Party of Georgia is set to elect a new state chair on Saturday to compete against Republican-controlled state and federal governments.
A new leader will be selected by the Georgia Democrats to replace Atlanta U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who resigned in March following internal pressure from key members of her party, including U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who expressed doubts about her ability to devote sufficient attention to promoting the party’s platform.
Ossoff, who is in for a tough fight to keep his Senate seat in 2026, reportedly pressured Williams to step down after the Democrats’ poor performance in last year’s election.
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House looms large, which raises questions about the role of Democratic party leadership in winning close elections.
Seven candidates are competing for the Democratic Party of Georgia chair and plan to deliver speeches in Atlanta Saturday seeking support for their bid to lead a party that recently enjoyed success with two Democratic senators winning the 2020 election as well as the state’s pivotal role in putting former President Joe Biden in the White House.
The field of candidates hoping to lead Georgia Democrats includes Gwinnett County state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, former Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis and Rome City Councilwoman Wendy Davis, and perceived frontrunner Charley Bailey, a former candidate for attorney general and lieutenant governor.
The interim party chair, Matthew Wilson, said Democrats are excited about the state committee meeting on Saturday.
He said they have seven great candidates running for chair, a treasurer’s race, and other votes to determine key strategies.
“The benefit to being a big tent party like the Democratic Party is that we have lots of different voices from all corners of the political spectrum. We’ve got conservatives, we have moderates, we have liberals, we have progressives, and it is going to be a big job for the new chair to make sure that we are united moving forward in a strategy that centers, again, what matters most, and that’s electoral victories,” Wilson said.
The 2026 election will feature races for the 236-member General Assembly, U.S. Senate as well as constitutional officers including governor since Republican Brian Kemp is ineligible for a third term.
University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said there is a built-in advantage for incumbent state officials since 2023 legislation allows top Georgia lawmakers to set up their own political action committees during the legislative session.
Democrats have signaled the importance of the next party chair by making it a full-time role, especially with many statewide positions and key Senate races up for grabs in Georgia, Bullock said.
The success of Democratic candidates will depend on their ability to coalesce behind a strong candidate and avoid bitter primaries, he said.
“It’s potentially going to be a big year in Georgia, giving Democrats a shot at winning some of the statewide constitutional offices,” Bullock said. “They haven’t won an open seat statewide constitutional office in this century.”
Bailey is the perceived favorite to become the next party chair because he has experience running in statewide elections and an ability to rally donors by not having certain skeletons that would be easy for Republicans to take advantage of, Bullock said.
“He can learn from the challenges that he had to overcome as a candidate,” Bullock said. “He is advising others who maybe have not had the kind of scrutiny that a person gets when they start running statewide so he can give advice in terms of here’s some things you don’t want to say you believe in.”
Brian Robinson, a Georgia Republican strategist, said Democratic candidates will need to overcome the perception that Georgia is well-run by Republicans. Democrats could sway voters by taking advantage of national issues such as Trump’s poor approval ratings on the economy as he’s followed through on plans to impose steep tariffs.
A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found that a majority of registered Georgia voters currently disapprove of Trump’s policies on the economy, tariffs, NATO and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The poll, however, revealed the support for Trump’s policies were sharply partisan, with 85% of surveyed Republicans approving compared to 97% of Democrats opposed.
“Republicans in Georgia are going into 2026 with a lot of things out of their control,” Robinson said. “They’re going to need to focus on the things they can control: get out the vote, raise money, and pick candidates who can win. But we know that there’s a headwind for the party in the White House.”
“If Trump’s approval rating is the low 40s or high 30s, that’s a prime opportunity for Democrats in the state, if they can have discipline to pick good candidates who don’t scare the middle, don’t scare independents, and can win (support) from some swing voters in the metro Atlanta area,” Robinson said.
The big question for 2026 is whether Kemp enters the GOP field of potential challengers to Ossoff’s re-election bid.
“Is Brian Kemp heads and tails the best choice for Republicans as the most competitive candidate?” Robinson said. “Yes, absolutely and anybody who says different is not a serious person to talk about politics.”
“But that second tier of GOP candidates will become the first tier at that juncture,” Robinson said. “They will get nominated, and they will have a lot of money behind them from a lot of organizations.”
State Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, an Augusta Democrat, said the next party chair needs to be able to work closely with the local parties.
“I think the key is to work with the county parties and make sure you have a good brand name as far as 2026 is concerned,” Jones said. “I think all of them are basically committed to that.”
Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin is optimistic about the party having a groundswell of support for officials fighting for party ideals.
“They want to see energy, the Democratic base does, from its leadership, because what we don’t want is to treat this like it’s just normal politics, like the Trump deportations and the tariffs and all of this is just kind of business as usual,” McLaurin said.
