Former senior staffers for ex-Georgia House of Representatives Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor in 2018 and 2022, are quietly lining up behind their preferred candidate for the party’s 2026 nomination.
With Republicans holding a trifecta in Washington, governorships have increasingly served as the Democratic Party’s bulwark against President Donald Trump. Georgia stands as among the country’s most intense battlegrounds, and those on the left are eager to tilt the Peach State in their favor after coming up short in the last two gubernatorial races.
Despite being on the losing end of those contests, Abrams continues to remain a force in the state. Political operatives credit her organizing prowess with helping deliver the U.S. Senate victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, which handed Democrats control of the Senate in 2020, and Abrams remains an active political presence.
If she had decided to run for governor again in 2026, some expect she would have cleared the field. However, in announcing earlier this month that she would not run, Abrams triggered a new race within the Democratic primary to secure her endorsement and the backing of her influential coalition. Former members of her staff, who are not employed by any of the candidates, believe one hopeful is best poised to secure Abrams’ support and the backing of her coalition.
“Stacey is a very active person; people are going to want to know who she endorses, and I think that Jason [Esteves], out of all the candidates that are currently on the table, would definitely be at the forefront,” a senior aide from Abrams’ 2022 campaign told Newsweek.
This aide, along with a half dozen others interviewed, were granted anonymity to speak freely about whom Abrams and those in her orbit might support, a topic they did not want to discuss publicly because Abrams has yet to back a candidate. The former congresswoman did not return Newsweek’s request for comment.
Jason Esteves, former state senator for an Atlanta-area district, currently polls at 3 percent. Former Atlanta Mayor and Biden administration senior adviser Keisha Lance Bottoms stands as the overwhelming front-runner, polling at 40 percent. Ex-Labor Commissioner and DeKalb County Executive Mike Thurmond sits at 11 percent, while former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, a former Republican who’s now a Trump critic, polls at 5 percent. All other contenders hover around 1 percent.
“While other campaigns focus on punditry and political insiders, Keisha’s campaign is talking to voters and building the people-powered infrastructure needed to win the governor’s office for Democrats in November,” Rashad Taylor, campaign manager for Bottoms, told Newsweek. “Keisha is the only candidate with a record of standing up to Trump and winning, and public polling shows that Keisha is winning across all demographics and regions of the state.”
While the race may appear decided, those figures come from an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released in early November where 40 percent of respondents said they were still undecided. With the primary not until May 19 and an expected runoff set for June 16, the race remains open, and veterans of the Abrams campaign see her support as a game-changer.
“I think that if she had to call up her supporters to come back again, they would come running,” a former senior adviser to Abrams told Newsweek. “I think that’s the feeling amongst the people that worked for her in the past. She’s an amazing leader, and we know what she’s capable of doing.”
Abrams may not endorse anyone, however. A senior operative for one of the campaigns told Newsweek that Abrams had a conversation with their candidate in the past week where she said she did not plan to endorse right now, given her relationships with multiple candidates.
A Georgia Democratic Party leader isn’t sold on the idea that Abrams will withhold an endorsement, but cautioned that it’s too early to predict.
“The one things Georgians like to do is speculate about Stacey and what she is going to do and what she is not going to do, so I think that’s par for the course right now,” the leader said. “I most certainly would be surprised if she endorsed, especially at this junction without looking at the fundraising, and frankly — despite polling — the field is still open.”
However, several of those in Abrams’ orbit signaled that even if she does not endorse, those who worked for her may be unified in their support for Esteves. While Newsweek’s half dozen interviews may not reflect a statistically significant sample size of Abrams’ coalition, in separate conversations, former staffers offered similar reasons why they think Abrams would back his campaign.
They said that Bottoms’ tenure as mayor of Atlanta during COVID-19 makes her vulnerable in a general election. They’re skeptical 73-year-old Thurmond will inspire a Democratic base eager for generational change. And they said Duncan’s status as a former Republican raises issues. These concerns are why they envision Esteves as the heir to Abrams’ coalition.
Personal histories may also play a role. Multiple aides said Esteves is the candidate Abrams knows best, while two of the senior aides who worked on Abrams’ 2022 campaign said that of the four front-runners, Esteves most actively supported Abrams’ campaign.
“Stacey Abrams built a multigenerational, multicultural coalition that paved the way for Georgians to elect Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, and two Democratic Public Service Commissioners with record turnout,” Esteves told Newsweek in a statement. “I’m the only candidate working to recreate and expand that coalition to win — It’s why I’m endorsed by Sally Yates, Jason Carter, Shanette Williams, and over 50 elected leaders across the state who are ready for a new generation of leadership. I look forward to earning every Georgian’s vote and flipping the governor’s office blue in November.”
Andra Gillespie, political science professor at Emory University, said she’d be surprised if Abrams supported Bottoms. However, she doesn’t think an Abrams endorsement would be a silver bullet in the primary race, believing instead that it’s the candidate who can best adopt her practices will win the race.
Gillespie sees significant overlap in the constituencies coveted by Bottoms and Esteves. She sees Thurmond as appealing to a similar electorate but one that perhaps skews older and more institutional. With each of those candidates being Black lifelong Democrats, Duncan — a white former Republican — appeals to a different audience.
Because of the overlapping constituencies that Bottoms, Esteves and — to a lesser extent, Thurmond — are vying to reach, Gillespie said the candidates’ grassroots mobilization efforts and abilities to inspire voters will prove significant in building the coalition needed to win the primary.
“Endorsements tend to matter to the extent that they can be used for mobilization purposes,” Gillespie told Newsweek. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, for all of these candidates, they’re just going to have to do a good job at identifying their people and making sure that they show up to the polls to vote in the primary.”
Identifying people is where Duncan holds unique strength, Gillespie said. He’s won statewide before and carved out an anti-Trump lane that could uniquely appeal to Republican and independent voters in the general election. Gillespie believes he possesses a strong shot at making the runoff, and multiple former Abrams aides noted the strength of his candidacy. If Abrams were to endorse Duncan, Gillespie said, it could speak volumes about his credentials among Democrats while indicating what type of strategy is needed to win come November.
“Since he was a state representative, former Lieutenant Governor Duncan has worked with Stacey Abrams to benefit all Georgians, including passing the rural health care tax credit to protect hospitals across the state, which has raised over $400 million since its inception,” a Duncan campaign spokesperson told Newsweek. “He has continued to keep her updated on the campaign. Stacey Abrams’ leadership has inspired civic engagement and strengthened democracy. She understands that it’s critical for a Democrat to win the Governor’s race this November and Geoff looks forward to working with her to build the coalition needed to do that — Democrats, Independents and disgusted Republicans.”
The election remains months away, and there’s a real chance that Abrams may elect not to endorse in a primary that’s sure to expose divisions within the Georgia Democratic Party. However, with her status as the architect of voter mobilization still intact, it’s safe to assume that the candidate who wins over the folks who helped make Abrams a household name will gain a turnout edge come May.
The Thurmond campaign did not respond to Newsweek’s request for comment.
