With their candidates losing in metro Atlanta, Georgia GOP seeks to remove party labels [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 6:54 PM EDT, March 27, 2026


ATLANTA (AP) — With Democrats steadily wiping out Republicans electorally in the core Atlanta counties of swing-state Georgia, Republicans have a new idea: Make most local candidates run for office without party labels.

The Republican-majority Georgia House on Friday gave final passage to a bill that would require nonpartisan elections in the five most populous counties in metro Atlanta. Among officials affected would be Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whom Republicans have repeatedly targeted because of her prosecution of Republican President Donald Trump after he pushed to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s key win in Georgia in 2020.

State Sen. John Albers, a Republican from the Atlanta suburb of Roswell who pushed the bill, said he believed it was needed to promote public safety, even though the counties’ elected sheriffs will continue to be elected under party labels when it goes into effect in 2028.

“This is a bill that makes perfect sense,” Albers said during Senate debate Thursday. “If you’re playing politics, you’ll be against this. If you want to keep Georgians safe, you’ll be for it.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nonpartisan-party-elections-republicans-democrats-willis-878d379c03dcca87b60712d2e3c2bb49