Race for 3 open U.S. House seats in Georgia could be decided next month

Two Republican members of Georgia’s congressional delegation are running for U.S. Senate instead of seeking another term in the U.S. House, and another decided to retire, creating three open seats.

All these seats represent heavily Republican districts, and multiple candidates have lined up to compete in the GOP primaries. The winners of the primaries in Georgia’s 1st, 10th and 11th congressional districts will be heavy favorites to win the seats in November.

President Donald Trump has endorsed his favorites in the 1st and 10th district races, backing well-known candidates who were already considered the front-runners thanks to name recognition and fundraising prowess. But in all three contests virtually every Republican on the ballot is campaigning as “America First” candidates who say they want to go to Washington to support Trump, regardless of whether they have his endorsement now.

Early voting is underway ahead of the May 19 primary day. Here’s more on the status of each of these three races.

1st District

Six Republicans and eight Democrats are competing to replace U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is running for the Senate instead of seeking another term in the House.

Jim Kingston’s father, Jack Kingston, represented this southeast and coastal Georgia seat for more than 20 years. Now he is the Trump-endorsed front-runner. An insurance executive who lives in Savannah, he said at the recent Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate that he doesn’t take for granted the support he has received from donors in the district and beyond.

“This stuff doesn’t happen magically,” he said. “It does happen by going out, meeting people, getting to know folks and making the case. And by the way, some of these folks I’ve made the case to have heard from the other candidates and still chose to support me.”

The GOP field also includes former Chatham County Commissioner Pat Farrell and conservative activist Kandiss Taylor, who ran for governor in 2022 and U.S. Senate in 2020. Taylor said in the four years since her last campaign she has continued to talk to voters and believes her grassroots campaign will take hold.

“They’re ready for somebody that’s a fighter,” she said during the debate. “They’re tired of being ignored by aristocrats that think this is a dynasty and a monarchy and a chosen seat.”

10th District

State Rep. Houston Gaines, the Trump-endorsed candidate, sparred most often with movie studio executive Ryan Millsap during the Atlanta Press Club debate.

Plumbing company owner Jeff Baker rounds out the GOP field in this contest.

Despite once being a critic of Trump and Republican priorities, Millsap said that he is now fighting what he perceives as a leftist agenda destroying America. He pitches himself as an outsider who can shake things up in Washington like Trump has. Gaines, he said, is weak.

“Being an outsider is important because right now. Our career politicians, like young Gaines here, do not have the backbone or the strength, nor do they have the will to take on the left and destroy them in this country,” Millsap said.

Gaines pointed to his work in office to pass laws that he said strengthened Georgia’s election system and further restrict panhandling and loitering. He said Trump and dozens of local elected officials endorsed him because they trust he will continue that work in Washington.

“My record is clear of getting things done for our district,” the Athens-based engineering consultant said. “That’s what I have done over my time in the General Assembly. That’s what I’m going to do in Congress. That’s why President Trump supported me.”

11th District

U.S. Barry Loudermilk’s surprise announcement in February that he would not seek another term led eight Republicans to qualify the following month to succeed him in office.

Among them are Rob Adkerson, who worked for Loudermilk and has the incumbent’s endorsement; John Cowan, a neurosurgeon and small business owner who previously ran for a neighboring congressional seat; and Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore.

Adkerson said he is running to continue Loudermilk’s legacy, but he hopes to embrace new technology if elected in the district that includes counties in the suburbs and exurbs northwest of Atlanta.

“I will set myself apart because we’re two different people,” he said during the debate. “I have learned a lot from Congressman Loudermilk; he is a consummate statesman.”

Pridemore decided not to seek another term on the PSC after Democrats successfully flipped two seats in last year’s elections. She defended her work on the commission overseeing utility companies, saying she worked to bring rates down.

“I recognize that our power bills have gone up,” she said. “Our bills for all of our essential services — food, rent, insurance — they’ve all been on the rise, which is why I took an active step, along with my Republican colleagues on the Georgia Public Service Commission, to freeze rates.”

Cowan defended his decision to run in the 11th District instead of the 14th, which includes his residence in Rome. He said he has deep ties in the district, particularly Bartow County, where he grew up and continues to see patients.