Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series Hosts State, Federal and County Election Runoff Debates May 31 – June 1, 2026
The Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series will host primary runoffdebates for U.S. Senate (R), Governor (R), Secretary of State (D) and (R), Lt. Governor (D) and (R), Public Service Commissioner District 5 (R), State School Superintendent (R), Insurance Commissioner (D), Labor Commissioner (D), U.S. Congressional Districts one (D) and eleven (R), and Fulton County Commission Chair on May 31 and
June 1, 2026.
The debates are in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting. They will be available to watch live on GPB.org, and The Atlanta Press Club YouTube Debate channel. The debate series will remain available to watch on demand on APC’s YouTube Debate channel.
The schedule is below in order of when the debates will take place. Debates are not open to the public.
Sunday, May 31
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| PSC 5 Republican | 9:45 – 10:15 a.m. |
Invited candidates: Bobby Mehan and Josh Tolbert
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Secretary of State Republican | 11:00 – 11:30 a.m. |
Invited candidates: Tim Fleming and Vernon Jones
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| US Senate Republican | 12:45 – 1:15p.m. |
Invited candidates: Mike Collins and Derek Dooley
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Secretary of State Democrat | 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Dana Barrett and Penny Brown Reynolds
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Lt. Governor Republican | 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Greg Dolezal and John F. Kennedy
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Lt. Governor Democrat | 4:15 – 4:45 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Josh McLaurin and Nabilah Parkes
Monday, June 1
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| State School Sup. Republican | 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. |
Invited candidates: Fred “Bubba” Longgrear and Richard Woods (Incumbent)
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Labor Commissioner Democrat | 10:45 – 11:15 a.m. |
Invited candidates: Nikki Porcher and Michelle “Michi” Sanchez
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Insurance Commissioner Democrat | 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Deandre Mathis and Keisha Waites
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Governor Republican | 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Rick Jackson and Burt Jones
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Cong. District One Democrat | 2:45 – 3:15 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Joyce Marie Griggs and Amanda Hollowell
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Cong. District Eleven Republican | 4:00 – 4:30 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Rob Adkerson and John Cowan
| Race | Tape and Livestream |
| Fulton Co. Commission Chair | 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. |
Invited candidates: Mo Ivory and Robb Pitts (Incumbent)
The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Sr. Foundation.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For questions on candidates, races and livestreams:
Lauri Strauss, The Atlanta Press Club, lstrauss@atlpressclub.org, 770-778-0739
To request media credentials:
Kim Speece, Leff & Associates, kim@leffassociates.com, 404-849-6579
Mitch Leff, Leff & Associates, mitch@leffassociates.com, 404-861-4769
Like Atlanta Press Club on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheAtlantaPressClub
Follow Atlanta Press Club on X: www.twitter.com/AtlPressClub
Follow Atlanta Press Club on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlpressclub/
Join the conversation by using the hashtag #APCDEBATES
LOUDERMILK-YOUNG DEBATE SERIES RULES
Invited candidates: Candidates who qualify with the Georgia Secretary of State to appear on the ballot by name are invited to participate in the debate. Candidates who suspend their campaign or drop out of the race before the debate are no longer eligible to participate.
Candidates declining: Candidates who decline to participate in a debate will be represented by an empty podium.
Panel: Each panel is made up of politically neutral journalists – a moderator who leads the debate and panelists who ask the questions. The moderator also may question the candidates. The questions are their own; neither the press club nor the candidates know the questions in advance.
DEBATE FORMAT
Introduction: Each candidate introduces themselves and shares why they are running.
Round 1: Each candidate is asked at least one question by a panelist.
Round 2: Each candidate asks at least one question to at least of one opponent of their choice. Candidates asking the question have time for a rebuttal in this round.
Round 3: The panelists take turns asking a question to the candidate of his/her choice until time runs out. The moderator determines when a rebuttal is appropriate.
Closing statements: Each candidate makes a closing statement.
Timing: Response times are generally 60 seconds and rebuttals 30 seconds, but both of these may need to be adjusted depending on how many candidates participate and the length of the debate.
Other details: Props and electronic devices are not allowed on set but notes and a notepad are allowed. Candidates are questioned in random order in each round. Candidates do not know the order in advance nor the questions they will be asked.
Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct
History of the Debate Series
For more than 20 years, the Atlanta Press Club, in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, has been organizing the premier political debates in the state of Georgia. The Atlanta Press Club Debate Series provides the most comprehensive, timely and widely viewed series of political debates during every election year in Georgia.
Previously, the Debate Series was funded from support by the late Tom Watson Brown. In 2011, R. Charles “Charlie” Loudermilk, founder of Aaron’s Inc., pledged $1 million to permanently endow the club’s series of political debates during every election year in Georgia. In honor of Loudermilk’s close friendship with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the debates are named the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.
In 2020, the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series was viewed around the world as the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting (along with CNN, Fox News and others) broadcast the debates between U.S. Senate candidates Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock. Jon Ossoff participated in the debates and David Perdue declined to join.
In 2025, the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series received a $265,000 grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to support the costs of the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series in 2025 and 2026.
The Atlanta Press Club remains committed to expanding its role as Georgia’s leading forum for journalism and civic engagement. To ensure that we can continue delivering trusted, nonpartisan debates that reach voters across every corner of the state, we welcome additional grants and philanthropic partnerships to help sustain and grow this vital public service.
Organizations and individuals interested in supporting the Atlanta Press Club’s debate series or other civic programming are encouraged to contact us at info@atlpressclub.org.
Contributions to the Atlanta Press Club do not constitute an implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. Decisions and judgments about content APC produces are made independently and not based on donor support.
Please click here to read our Editorial Independence and Donor Transparency policies.
How are Atlanta Press Club debates organized and managed?
A committee of Atlanta Press Club members selects which primary and general election races to hold debates. The committee is co-chaired by Maria Saporta, editor and founder of the SaportaReport, and Rahul Bali, politics reporter for WABE public radio. Committee members must be Atlanta Press Club members and sign a disclosure statement, stating they have not engaged in any political activity in the prior four years. The members are drawn from Georgia’s pool of political journalists, several of whom also serve on the club’s board of directors. In addition to selecting debates to hold, the committee also assembles the panels of journalists and moderators responsible for each debate. Lauri Strauss, a past president of the Atlanta Press Club and a non-voting member of its board of directors, is contracted by the club to handle all the logistical details of staging each debate. Strauss is responsible for coordinating with the candidates and their campaigns, the panelists and the moderators, and work with Georgia Public Broadcasting, the broadcast partner of the debate series, to oversee all production aspects. Beyond primary and general election debates, the Press Club commits to holding debates for primary and general election runoffs. Depending on the year, the club will host up to 40 debates from May to December, and is proud to organize one of the largest debate series in the nation.
The Atlanta Press Club is proud to host one of the most expansive debate series in the country. The series is organized by a committee comprised of members of the Atlanta Press Club board and local political journalists.
We know every political race is important, but due to several restrictions, including time and finances, the Atlanta Press Club is not able to host debates for each race on the ballot, therefore, the committee determines which debates would be most impactful for voters each election season.