Shaping the New Georgia – A 2026 Bipartisan Gubernatorial Forum

Updated February 26th, 2026: Rep. Ruwa Romman is listed as a gubernatorial candidate in this article. Her campaign has announced that she is removing herself from this race and is now running for State Senate District 7.

Original Story February 23rd, 2026:

On Saturday, eight Georgia gubernatorial candidates gathered in the beautifully decorated space of Ali Events at Lakewood. The well-organized event featured chairs arranged in an oval around the room, with tables in a U-shape in the center for the candidates and moderators.

Our host, Dawn Montgomery, opened the forum, providing clear instructions for engagement and reminding everyone, candidates included, that this was a forum and not a debate. For anyone not familiar with the distinction, one clear difference is that candidates should respond to the questions without pulling other candidates into a debate, heated or otherwise. There are times and spaces for this to occur; however, forums are intended to provide an equitable opportunity for candidates to respond based on their positions and policy plans without being pulled into discussion.

After our host opened us up, candidates for other offices in the state were provided an opportunity to share their platform and information (more on that below). After which, Omar Ali, forum presenter and independent moderator, opened up the forum portion of the afternoon with a story about building relationships across political boundaries and how important it is to do so in creating a more equitable society for everyone.

What follows are summaries of the questions and responses given through the forum. For summary purposes, responses are not provided word-for-word unless noted with quotation marks. This equates to some responses excluding spoken narratives and anecdotes, only providing the meat of their statements. Responses are provided in the order given, with the first candidate being chosen by the questioning moderator and candidates responding in a counterclockwise order around the tables. At times, questions were given with examples or context, yet this is not always included in the question summaries included here.

Additional Candidate Platforms Introduced:

• Labor Commissioner: Nikki Porcher is a military veteran, serving in the U.S. Air Force, and an educator. Porcher stated she “wants Georgia to work for everyone.” More information about Porcher’s campaign can be found at vote4nikki.com
• State School Superintendent: Otha Thornton is a Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President. Thornton discussed his work with the Georgia Assembly and his pride in serving with the PTA. More information about Thornton’s campaign can be found at othathornton.com
• State Attorney General: Tanya Miller is a prosecutor and Georgia state representative, representing District 62. Miller “wants to be the AG for everyone”, prioritizing public safety, digital safety, crime prosecution, and community engagement. More information about Miller’s campaign can be found at tanyaforgeorgia.com

Gubernatorial Candidates present (listed in alphabetical order):

Olu Brown – Impact Church Founder
Chris Carr – State Attorney General
Clark Dean – Founder, Transwestern Transaction Services Group
Geoff Duncan – Former Lieutenant Governor
Jason Esteves – Former State Senator, District 35
Derrick Jackson – State Representative, District 68
Ruwa Romman – State Representative, District 97
Mike Thurmond – Former DeKalb County CEO

Moderators: Omar Ali (Independent), Ray Cobb (Republican), Tamisha Harris (Democrat)

Candidate Opening Statements:

• Brown: “I will always show up. I will always be present. And I won’t just fight for you; I’ll fight with you.”
• Romman: “We deserve a Georgia where we can all belong. I believe we deserve a leader who has vision. We need to fix the problems of the present while focusing on our future.”
• Carr: Believes Georgia is the model for the nation. Carr wants to focus on education, the workforce, infrastructure, and keeping people safe.
• Esteves: Believes people are putting politics ahead of people. Esteves leaned into his upbringing, stating, “Love my God, work hard, and leave my community better than I found it.”
• Jackson: Jackson described his late first wife’s breast cancer diagnosis and the impacts the diagnosis and caretaking had on him. Jackson promised to have initiatives around family and healthcare.
• Duncan: Wants to build a bipartisan coalition. Duncan is staying focused on the “crises of affordability, healthcare, and Trump.”
• Thurmond: Believes Georgia’s government is broken and wants the opportunity to fix it. Thurmond wants to build a multi-racial coalition.
• Dean: “I’m a business guy… I’m a service guy. I’m not a politician. I’ve been building businesses.” Has an S.A.P. plan to help serve Georgians.

After opening statements, moderators rotated, asking the candidates questions. Live audience questions were not taken during the forum. The questioning moderator is not noted for each question, only the question and the candidate’s responses.

Reminder: These responses are summarized with specific quotes pulled from the responses.

Questions for Candidates

What is one policy currently supported by your party that you think needs to be rethought to help Georgia grow as an economy?

• Dean: Dean believes Georgians need someone to “represent you as a client. Need someone who can bring good deals for all Georgians.”
• Thurmond: “I have never put party before people. People come first.”
• Duncan: Believes there have been some missteps in the management of the state’s budget. Duncan wants to be fiscally responsible and build a “more efficient and effective government.”
• Jackson: “Trickle-down economics do not work in this country. We need an economic policy that builds from the ground up and builds up the middle class.” Jackson referenced his proposed legislation, HB 600, which would increase the minimum wage for agricultural workers and state employees and create a grant program for companies that hire rehabilitated employees for at least one year.
• Esteves: Wants to focus on what the people have to say and focus on what challenges people have every day. Housing affordability, quality education, and putting people before politics are Esteves’s focuses.
• Carr: Spoke about Senate Bill (SB) 476 and his desire to bring down taxes responsibly and not put it on the backs of businesses.
• Romman: Believes primaries are important but also believes that getting big money out of politics is essential for fairer elections. Romman would like to ban Political Action Committees (PACs) to provide a more level playing field for candidates.
• Brown: Wants to push the party to the next level and uplift small business ownership and entrepreneurs. As a business owner, Brown described some of the hurdles his family has faced in entrepreneurship and wants to reduce the burden of starting a small business, including lowering LLC costs.

Would you publicly commit to appointing one senior advisor from outside your party? (Some of these responses were one-word responses and not summarized.)

• Brown: “Yes.”
• Romman: “No.”
• Carr: “Jobs are not partisan…I’ll work with anybody.” (so yes)
• Esteves: “No. I’m committed to focusing on people who are laser-focused on growth and opportunity.”
• Jackson: “Yes, there’s no monopoly on great ideas. Great ideas can come from both sides.”
• Duncan: “The next governor will work for all Georgians. Yes. I’m willing to work with anyone. I think it’s important to look at records. It’s time to break down the barriers and work with anyone.”
• Thurmond: Talked about the record of employees in his different positions within state and local offices. “I never asked anyone how they voted, party affiliation, or sexual orientation.”
• Dean: “You have to have smart people to solve problems and healthy relationships. If you have folks you disagree with, then you can get to the best solutions for all Georgians.”

Georgia ranks high for business climate, yet many small businesses are struggling. What policy would you implement in your first year to help small businesses thrive?

• Duncan: “We have to make life more affordable for these people and small businesses. We’ll continue to work with organized labor. We’re headed in a good direction, but I think there’s an opportunity to head in a great direction.”
• Jackson: “We need to not wait for disasters to happen. We need legislation in place so that small businesses are not hurt.”
• Esteves: Wants to create a small business loan program and cut the red tape at the local and state level. Esteves described opening three businesses in different jurisdictions as one of his reasons for his plan to ensure current tax breaks “stretch to small business owners.”
• Carr: Described his previous tenure as the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Carr also wants to remove the red tape for small business owners and ensure Georgia has the lowest tax burden in the nation. “We are a state that grows and attracts talent.”
• Romman: “Georgia is 7^th for small businesses as a state in the country. We are protecting corporations more than anyone else. If we’re serious, we need to expand Medicaid. It’s one of the most important tools not just for healthcare but also for economic development…They [small business owners] should have seats at tables with leaders to discuss the issues that impact them.
• Brown: Described his experience as a small business owner and his willingness to wake up to support small businesses. “A lot of businesses struggle due to capacity restraints. First hire tax credit in Georgia to not only employ yourself but individuals.”
• Dean: “Small businesses are important. The cost of business has to come down. The lack of customers causes a lot of these businesses to fail.” Dean wants to create a Georgia marketplace of “problems worth solving.” He wants to highlight businesses that can solve those problems so they can “reap the rewards on the other side.”
• Thurmond: Wants to direct the Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Finance to convene a meeting to set up a $10M fund for capital and collateral for small business funds. “When businesses are attracted to Georgia, they are going to have to hire locally and invest in the small businesses here.”

[Continuing the discussion of small business policies] What are the potential impacts for rural Georgia?

• Esteves: Discussed access to capital throughout Georgia. “It’s the ma and pop shops that are helping revitalize their community up and down the street.” Esteves wants to make sure that no matter where you live in the state, people have the capital to help build and grow their community.
• Carr: “After Dodd-Frank, we killed small community banks. Georgia was built on this…We need to have private equity to come and invest in our state.”
• Romman: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. 154 of the counties are experiencing downturns. They’re not staying in their communities. It is those large corporations coming in. We have to expand healthcare so people feel safe living there. We need to improve the infrastructure. We’re missing expansion because it takes too long to get there.”
• Brown: Described the founding and development of his former church, Impact Church, and that it serves as one of the inspirations for the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE).
• Dean: “Trust is what allows capital to flow. Why not have relationship-focused opportunities? Right now, we have 40% of what we grow is wasted. Allow farmers to monetize and bring food costs down. Let’s build relationships as we deliver capital.”
• Thurmond: “Studies show expansion of Medicaid would create 85k jobs. Many of those would be in rural Georgia.” Thurmond wants to partner with local small businesses who need capital to grow. “We need a governor who’s not just about the big guy but the small businesses.”
• Duncan: “The biggest businesses in Georgia are healthcare and education.” Duncan wants to help rural Georgians have opportunities to grow through quality education and a shift in the formula.
• Jackson: “Of the 159 counties, 122 are rural… Yes, they need capital, infrastructure, and healthcare. But you have to show up first. HD 68 is the fastest-growing district in Georgia. I don’t have to speak with hypotheticals. I speak with results.”

State contracts often are inequitable in visibility and opportunity. How would you improve upon pay performance and prompt pay? (question summarized)

• Romman: “We can set qualifications for small businesses to represent a small portion of those opportunities.”
• Brown: Wants to make sure the visibility of state contract opportunities is transparent and wants to provide equity and fairness for small businesses.
• Dean: Wants partnership and collaboration and to be more creative in problem-solving. “Let’s invite them into problems they can already solve. Not all jobs are great jobs for small businesses. But if we make our government more effective, we can help them focus attention on capabilities and creativity to succeed.”
• Thurmond: “There are problems in the line that create hurdles for small businesses.” Thurmond wants to create an opportunity for small businesses to get those contracts.
• Duncan: Wants to expand the opportunities through the largest employer, the state of Georgia. Duncan expressed the desire to have the most equitable and diverse government in the country, stating he hates what has been done to DEI across the state and nation. “Not to check boxes but because it’s the right thing to do.”
• Jackson: “The voice that is not part of the process of growth is small businesses.” Jackson wants to create a small business commission. “DEI is not the boogeyman. It’s the reality.”
• Esteves: Georgia currently is net60 or net90 in payment terms. Esteves wants to break up the contracts so that small businesses can afford to bid for the contracts, stating that larger businesses often pay lobbying folks to handle it.
• Carr: When he asked, he was told it’s done this way because it’s always been done this way. Carr wants to make sure the process is marketed and that it is done fairly and equitably. “I don’t discriminate against anyone, and I won’t as governor.”

What is your direct strategy to lower everyday household costs?

• Jackson: “I’ve been talking about this for the last ten years… A nurse shouldn’t have to work two or three jobs. Nor should teachers have to give snacks because the kids can’t afford to eat. We need to increase the salary for teachers and nurses too.”
• Duncan: “Affordability is a crisis. It’s impacting everybody. We’ve got to help ourselves. I want to take 10% of our state reserves and put it in a jumpstart plan. Whether that’s for TANF or expanding Medicaid.”
• Thurmond: “Raise the income payout on the CAPS program, a scholarship program for parents to afford childcare for their kids. I would raise the income eligibility for more parents to be able to afford childcare. GA Tech and AUC are great opportunities, but so is Atlanta Tech. It’s not about blue or white but about the green in the dollar.”
• Dean: Created ASAP plan – first A = affordability. Dean wants to unlock opportunities to create jobs, so folks have more money to spend.
• Brown: “The problem with affordability is that the only ones making decisions are the ones who can afford it.” Brown talked about his family’s healthcare costing more than the mortgage, and he wants to use the state reserves to give premium subsidies.
• Romman: “Words aren’t going to feed a hungry child or cover the rent. We need to raise the minimum wage age. Workers are making the least while the wealthy are making the most.”
• Carr: “Good-paying jobs. Things are really unaffordable if you don’t have one. I’ll work with small businesses or corporate America. Housing: We’ve got to incentivize private equity to come in and make housing affordable. I would double the earned income tax credit. The private sector has to be able to make a profit. It’s not a bad word. Companies have got to be able to make money to put more money back into the economy.”
• Esteves: Wants to stop private equity from buying all of our single-family homes. And develop a fund to help. Esteves also wants to expand Medicaid and lower the cost of healthcare, create universal childcare that would be affordable for all and free for some. He also wants to use the Georgia lottery reserves fund and stop the corporate giveaways to data centers and billionaires.

Do you support any changes in the current property tax formula?

• Carr: “Yes, I do. The problem is the assessments. We’ve got to pay for services, but the state has an interest as well as local. Repricing people out of their homes, that’s unamerican.”
• Romman: “Yes, but we need to tax the privately owned homes differently than we do the people-owned homes.
• Dean: “Yes, the current system basically protects politicians who aren’t good at controlling the costs of government. Politicians need to be accountable to the people, and if they can’t manage their budget, then they need to fix it.”
• Thurmond: “I’m not going on the record to say I support the bill currently going through the dome because we don’t have a fiscal note and no way to make up the difference. But I do support changing the tax level and would support thorough legislation.”
• Duncan: Wants to call in the weaponization of taxes. “We need responsible adults talking about tax policy that goes beyond campaigns.”
• Jackson: “We’re having a huge debate under the gold dome. If it’s going to impact our seniors or families, it’s a no for me. How are we going to make up this 6–9-billion-dollar gap?”
• Esteves: Wants to ensure we find ways to lower property taxes. Right now, it’s the assessments on corporations that’re making your property taxes up. We need to assess the corporations and make them pay their fair share.”

How do we face the workforce shortages in workforce and skilled trades? What kind of expansions would be put around trade so that we’re not skipped for opportunities?

• Brown: “I know what it is to create jobs and to support people in creating jobs.” He has a 12+2 promise for high school graduates to receive a certificate in IT or a trade. and be certified for jobs in Georgia and all over the world.
• Dean: “We must increase early childhood education so kids can learn.” Dean wants to create opportunities for high school students and would use corporate programs as a jumpstart as well. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but we do have to encourage people to grow and evolve in their passions.”
• Thurmond: “All work has dignity. We have to expand the fatherhood initiative. We created a contract with a tech school so that fathers who were in jail for child support could get trained so they could afford it.”
• Duncan: “Early childhood education has got to be stepped up. Need to build better connectivity with tech schools and build up partnerships with public schools.”
• Jackson: “I think about where we are today and what jobs will exist tomorrow. We need a governor that’s thinking 10-15 years from now.”
• Esteves: “We can’t be the number one state in business unless we have a workforce that is healthy and educated. We’re in the bottom half of all levels. Plant the seeds in middle school, talk to kids in elementary school…” Esteves wants to make historic investments in internships and apprenticeships, and make a goal of 45% of high schoolers going into a trade.
• Carr: “We need to add tech back into high schools. AI is here. We can either lead or get run over.” Carr wants to invest in Technology. “But AI is not going to show up to fix your toilet. A plumber is. We need to remove the stigma from trade and apprenticeships.”
• Romman: “We currently get 0 out of 100 opportunities in Georgia. We have to improve our working conditions. Our literacy rate is worse than Mississippi. We can use their playbook to fix it. We need to make sure apprenticeship programs also provide well-rounded ways for students.”

Last question and closing statements

Note: Not every candidate received the opportunity to respond to a final question

Maternal mortality rates. What concrete policies would you implement to help mothers?

• Dean: Wants to partner in communities to help catch problems before they get worse. “There are cost-effective ways to help this. Community health working programs help fill the gaps in rural communities and help fill the gaps in care costs.
• Closing statement: “I’m not a politician, but this is a team sport. I can help bring people together to solve problems. You need someone who treats all Georgians as clients with problem/solving and dedication to ensure all Georgians thrive. Pick someone who cares deeply about you, whoever ends up on West Paces Ferry.”

Why is your experience a help and not a drawback?

Thurmond: “I offer a bold new vision for Georgia. It’s a Georgia not separated by region or race. If we will work and play and maybe even cry together, we can build a great Georgia. We will build a Georgia that will not separate according to party. Expanding Medicaid is not a race thing. It’s a right thing. Same with providing food. We have to elect a governor who will stand in the gap and will not grow weary or get tired. I won’t let anyone tell me how to make America great again. We’re going from the outhouse to the state house. And I’m going to rename it the people’s house.”

Without having held public office, why should Georgians vote for you?

Brown: Brown talked about his mother raising them, and there was never enough money. He wants to fight for those who want to be able to afford to care for themselves and their families. “The current politicians are not getting the job done. It’s time to look on the outside for people who can get the job done. My experience as your next governor is a person who cares, sees, and has always gotten the job done.”

What specifically changed in your views, and why should Democratic voters trust that you would represent them?

Duncan: “I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve learned from them…My only regret is that I didn’t do this sooner. Let’s take Georgia in a different direction. Raising three boys and doing the right thing will never be the wrong thing. Running as a Dem is the right thing to do, and I look forward to earning your trust and earning your vote.”

Remaining Closing Statements

• Esteves: “I want to make sure hardworking people of this state have a fair shot. I’m going to fight for our democracy and fight to lower the costs of affordability and make sure children and grandchildren have opportunities. A new generation of leaders. I want to give you something to vote for and not just vote against. We have a president who is trying to feed on your despair. But there is plenty of hope in Georgia. We have to do the work, and that work starts now.”
• Romman: When elected to the state legislature, she said she was told to compromise to get along. “The best lesson I learned was that you don’t have to do that. I was able to work on bipartisan solutions without pretending to be something I’m not. If they don’t know where you stand, then they’ll know you’ll fall for anything. Our fight right now is not left versus right. It’s top versus bottom. Our state is the home of multiple movements that have shaped our nation. We are the state of good trouble. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell the good ol’ boys club that they’ve failed.”
• Jackson: “If you see something that’s not right or fair, then you have the obligation to do something. I plan to use my 42 years of service to serve Georgia. At GE, I helped raise $1.4M to help women in shelters.” Jackson talked about his wife and his remarriage. “We have a democracy, and I’m fighting each and every day to keep this democracy. I’m asking you all to hire me as the next governor. I’m focused on family, our rights, and our military.”
• Carr: His family moved to Georgia when he was six, and his dad bought a business in the want ads. “Georgia has been the model for so many people. I’ve worked since 16. I worked with Johnny Isakson, who I believe was one of the greatest legislators of this state. Worked on immigration, national security, public safety, etc., then commissioner and brought jobs to the state. Now AG [attorney general] for ten years and helping keep people safe…Look at who’s most vulnerable. No one is going to come here if they don’t feel safe. There are three really rich guys trying to buy this race (on the Republican side) and one trying to earn it.”