Who has endorsed frontrunners in tight Georgia governor's race?

Just a few days remain for early voting in the Georgia primary races, and candidates hoping to take the highest seat in the state are pulling out all the stops to reach voters.

Election day is Tuesday, May 19, and seats at the state and national level are on the ballot from district representatives to the U.S. Senate.

Many eyes will be on the Peach State as Governor Brian Kemp completes his second term, unable to run again, and leaving a vacuum for a new conservative, or liberal, leader in the South.

More than a dozen candidates have thrown their name in the ring to replace him on both sides of the political spectrum. Polls have shown a few clear frontrunners for the November general election, but everyone is still in the race until next week.

Here's a look at the race for governor and which candidates have landed significant endorsements.

Who is running for governor of Georgia?

A total of eight Republican candidates and seven Democratic candidates have qualified for the May gubernatorial primary.

Brad Raffensperger, Burt Jones, Chris Carr, Clark Dean, Gregg Kirkpatrick, Ken Yasger, Rick Jackson and Tom Williams have qualified as candidates for the Republican Party.

Current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and late-entry healthcare executive Rick Jackson have been leading the polls, with Jackson performing well over the past few weeks.

Seven Democratic candidates are also in the race, including Amanda Duffy, Derrick Jackson, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mike Thurmond and Olu Brown.

The polls show Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, leading the pack, followed by longtime politician Michael Thurmond.

However, many voters were still undecided in the primary race, making up a significant portion of the Georgia electorate, as of May 1.

Jones and Jackson locked in fight for MAGA base in Georgia

The closer race lies on the Republican side of the ticket, with Trump-endorsed Jones having to shift his strategy after the surprise late entry of Jackson to the gubernatorial race.

Jones was endorsed by the president long before Jackson announced his candidacy, and Jackson has since focused his campaign on Trump voters and parts of the MAGA base. Despite not having the endorsement, Jackson has also publicly supported the president and said he would be a friend to Trump in Georgia. Jones has largely targeted Jackson in his campaign ads and social media posts, and regularly shares images of himself with the president to reinforce the political connection.

President Trump has had his focus on the state since the 2020 election when he claimed the race had been stolen in part because of voter fraud in Fulton County. The claims eventually led to an FBI raid of an election center in south Atlanta earlier this year. The legality of the raid is being disputed in court, and there has not been any evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Jones has received endorsements from U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde, Congressman Rick Allen, Majority Caucus Chairman Bruce Williamson, state senator Steven McNeel, state senator Matt Brass, a group of Georgia sheriff's and country music star Jason Aldean, a Macon native, among others.

Jackson, on the other hand, was playing catch up trying to get big names to his cause, but it hasn't slowed him down.

He has been endorsed by NFL Hall of Famer and former UGA player Fran Tarkenton, state insurance commissioner candidate John King, state representative Bethany Ballard, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald, state representative Steven Sainz and others.

The race is likely to go to a June runoff.

Could Bottoms turn Georgia blue?

In March, the Center for Politics' Crystal Ball predicted the Georgia gubernatorial race was the "clearest Democratic pickup opportunity," setting frontrunners Bottoms and Thurmond up for potential success against the Trump-aligned Republicans.

Bottoms has name recognition on her side in Georgia after serving as the mayor of Atlanta for 4 years and working in the Biden Administration, and she clearly leads the liberal pack in the state.

On May 1, Bottoms was endorsed by former president Joe Biden in a video posted on YouTube. Biden said he has known the former mayor "for a long time," and she "faced every challenge a leader could face" during her time in Atlanta.

"A global pandemic, a major cyber attack on the city systems, economic uncertainty that tested every community across Georgia, but she handled it all with steady, thoughtful leadership," Biden said. "That's the definition of battle-tested."

She has also been endorsed by EMILYs List, a pro-choice political action committee, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Higher Heights for America, rapper and activist Killer Mike, among others.

There is still a chance the primary could go to Thurmond, Duncan or Esteves, who have all reached a noticeable group of Georgians in late polls.

Duncan will have to convince Democratic voters that he has turned over a new leaf. Duncan previously served as a Republican lieutenant governor under Kemp's first term, only switching to the Democratic Party after he did not seek reelection in 2022, and Jones won the seat for Kemp's second term. He became a vocal critic of the president after his time in the state house before announcing his bid for governor as a democrat.

Duncan has been endorsed by the former Georgia NAACP President James "Major" Woodall, the Southern Regional Council of Carpenters Union, Georgia Men for Democracy Now PAC, and state representative Michelle Au, among others.

Thurmond is the former chief executive of DeKalb County in Atlanta, and he has spent decades in the political landscape of Georgia. He served in the state legislature, as the statewide labor commissioner and as the superintendent of the DeKalb County School District.

Thurmond was endorsed by former Governor Roy Barnes and civil rights icon Andrew Young, who both pointed to his decades of public service and said he was someone who could move Georgia forward and represent a larger population of the state.

Esteves has been one of the only Democrats to take Bottoms on directly, questioning her role in a protest death in 2020 and other key decisions from her time as mayor during various debates. He campaigns as a face for the new generations of Democrats across the country and as a milleniel candidate.

Esteves has notably been endorsed by Jason Carter, the former state senator and grandson of former president Jimmy Carter, Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died in Georgia after she was denied abortion care, and Sally Yates, the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General.

The race is likely to go to a June runoff.

Irene Wright covers the governor's race in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].