Updated April 20, 2026
Our research methodology
This page documents our definitions, sources, and classification rules.
GeorgiaPrimary Stage2026
Summary
Contested is a civic engagement project that visualizes the amount of voter choice in primary elections across Georgia's 2026 election cycle. Contested classifies each district based on whether its Democratic and Republican primaries are contested — and to what degree — as of the March 6 qualifying deadline. Our goal is to help voters, journalists, and researchers understand where voter choice and electoral competition is structurally absent in our state.
Definitions
Meaningful Competition
Both major parties have contested primaries in the district.
Limited Competition
Only one major party has a contested primary in the district.
No Competition
Neither major party has a contested primary in the district.
Data sources
- District Data: GeoJSON datasets were retrieved from the Georgia Office of the General Assembly Office of Reapportionment and the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Candidate Data: Qualified candidate datasets were obtained from the Georgia Office of the Secretary of State. In cases where certain desired datasets were not published by the Office, we filed Georgia Open Records Act Requests.
- Election Dates: Official election deadlines for filing, primary, runoff, and general were obtained from the Georgia Office of the Secretary of State.
Update cadence
- We timestamp our website with a visible “Last updated” date in the footer, mobile navigation, and Explore page.
- We plan updates and new features around key milestones (primary election, primary runoff, general election).
Known limitations
- At this time, Contested focuses on electoral competition between Democrats and Republicans in the primary stage of the Georgia 2026 election. This product does not evaluate general election choice or competitiveness.
- Our cycle-over-cycle competition analysis compares the 2024 Georgia primary to the 2026 Georgia primary. The 2024 primary provides a helpful baseline for immediate comparison, and we plan to expand our historical dataset soon to deliver greater cycle-over-cycle trend analysis.
- At this time, Contested excludes statewide races from analysis. This is temporary, and we plan to expand our race coverage in the future.
Corrections
If you believe our analysis is incorrect, we want to fix it quickly. Please include:
- Office + district
- What appears to be misclassified
- A citation or link to the official source
Email our team at contested@lockett.foundation.
Support the work behind Contested
If you’ve read this far, you probably care deeply about democracy. So do we.
Contested is part of a broader effort by The Kenneth Lockett Foundation to build the next generation of public-interest leaders in Georgia through civic research and nonpartisan, paid fellowships.
Your support helps fund research and paid fellowships in Georgia.