Georgia is considered a battleground state in the 2024 presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Georgia voted for President Biden in 2020 — the first time the state had gone for a Democratic candidate since 1992.
Georgia has 16 electoral votes.
Georgia is at the heart of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. On Jan. 2, 2021, Trump called Raffensperger and other election officials, asking them to “find” 11,780 votes — or “one more vote than we have.” Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and 18 others with election interference, although the case is currently halted. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Georgia has a six-week abortion ban that went into effect after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade. Since then, the state’s Supreme Court has upheld the measure, despite efforts by pro-abortion rights groups. Vice President Kamala Harris has campaigned on the issue in the state, especially after the deaths of two women. An investigation found that the women’s deaths were preventable but were hindered by the state’s abortion ban.
There aren’t any big-ticket races in Georgia this year. Firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who represents a district in north Georgia, is in a safe red district.
Both of Georgia’s Senate seats flipped Democratic in a special runoff election on Jan. 5, 2021, which Trump had campaigned extensively ahead of time to keep in GOP hands. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock was elected to finish a term, and he was reelected in 2022. The other Democrat, Sen. Jon Ossoff, will be up for reelection in 2026.
Trump tried to support primary challengers to Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2022, but they ultimately prevailed.
A CBS News poll conducted in late September had Trump with a 2-point lead over Harris in Georgia, 51% to 49%.
Polls closed in Georgia at 7 p.m. ET. More than 4 million people in Georgia voted early as of Friday, the last day of early voting, shattering records, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
