11Alive’s Zach Merchant spoke with several candidates for governor outside the AJC Politically Georgia candidate forum this week.
Watch the full interview here.
ATLANTA — Election Day came and went this week, and while this year’s races largely consisted of municipal elections around Georgia, the unusual inclusion of two statewide races on the ballot — and surprisingly lopsided victories by Democrats in those races — has the political buzz already building in the Peach State for next year.
In addition to the 2026 midterms deciding Congress, Georgia will elect its next crop of statewide leaders — including a governor, with incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp set to depart office after serving the maximum of two terms.
The field is crowded and includes a number of big names in Georgia politics — on the Republican side, there are three current statewide officeholders and two additional candidates; the Democratic field of eight consists of seven current or former state or local officeholders plus one more candidate.
On Wednesday night, five of those candidates spoke with 11Alive’s Zach Merchant and The Georgia Vote outside the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia candidate forum.
That included Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running in the Republican primary.
See his full interview here. Excerpts of the interview, condensed for length and clarity, are below.
Navigating a government shutdown
11Alive’s Zach Merchant: If you win this race and you become Georgia’s governor, what do you think the role of a state governor should be in navigating a federal shutdown for the people of the state he serves?
Carr: Yeah, it continues to get more and more important. And I had 10 years of experience in the Senate working with Jonny Isakson, working up there on the issues that matter to Georgians. Because if the federal government isn’t going to do it, it does fall to the state. Now there’s only so much we can do. There are some programs and some things we just can’t pick up the tab for but you’ve got to be able to work with folks, know who to call, know who to work with. But you want to at least have someone who knows what they are doing.
Merchant: You say there are things you can do, let’s talk about them.
Carr: Yeah.
Merchant: There’s been some talk in some states about at the state level, states opening up some funds to help at least partially fund SNAP benefits. Is that something you think the governor of Georgia should do?
Carr: Well, I think Governor Kemp’s right, that’s one of those issues, that’s a big ticket item. The federal government should do it. But you know what? Congress needs to get back to work. The federal government needs to open back up. But for example, when we had Hurricane Helene, when we had the tornadoes, the state stepped up, provided relief to those that were suffering the most in a way that made the most sense
Merchant: You say Governor Kemp had it right in that it’s a big ticket item. In your view, did he have it right on the SNAP benefit issue that it’s not the state’s role to help pay for that?
Carr: It is not. It is not. That’s a federal program and the state budget isn’t the federal budget. We need the federal government to work together. We will partner, we’ll do everything we can, we’ll be creative like we were in hurricanes and tornadoes, but there are just some things the federal government’s supposed to do. They’ve got to get back to work and do it.
Reacting to Democratic wins in 2025 off-cycle elections
Merchant: How do those results impact the way you’re looking at framing your campaign moving forward? Do they change anything for you?
Carr: It doesn’t because this is what we’ve been telling folks: that candidate quality matters, affordability issues matter, and you’re going to want — particularly in Georgia in 2026 — you’re going to want somebody that understands kitchen table issues. Lower taxes. Affordability, particularly as it comes to housing and healthcare. Safe streets.
On past tension with President Donald Trump
Merchant: In the wake of the 2020 Presidential Election here in Georgia, (President Donald Trump) disputed those results. You went to bat and defended the validity of those results. Do you think Georgia voters will reward you or punish you for your decision there?
Carr: I think Georgia voters like seeing the governor be his or her own man or his or her own woman. And I think that what happened in 2020 is I disagreed with why we lost the race in 2020. I didn’t see widespread voter fraud such that it would overturn the election and I went to court to do it. But I’ll remind everybody: Stacey Abrams said she lost the race in ’18 because of voter suppression. We went to court when she filed a federal lawsuit. Every last claim that she made was dismissed. So at the end of the day, again, I think it’s about governors being their own person representing the state and I’m going to represent the people of Georgia.
