Less than a month after launching an exploratory bid for governor of Georgia, Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath has suspended her campaign to focus on her husband’s health.
“My husband and I are so grateful for the outpouring support we have received as we undergo this medical process,’’ McBath said in a statement. “I will be spending time focusing on my husband’s recovery, and I cannot make the decision to run for Governor or not at this time.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported McBath’s decision, said her husband, Curtis McBath, had suffered complications from cancer surgery.
“I’ve always said my priorities should be where I’m supposed to be. And that’s helping my husband,’’ McBath told the newspaper.
However, she is leaving open the possibility that she would reconsider, her campaign said.
McBath announced her exploratory run in early March, a step that allowed her to begin raising money.
A former flight attendant, she first entered the national stage as an advocate for stricter gun regulations after her 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was shot and killed at a Florida gas station in 2012. She became the lead spokesperson for two national gun safety groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
In 2018, she flipped a suburban Atlanta district once represented by Newt Gingrich, narrowly unseating Republican Rep. Karen Handel during the so-called blue wave election. A prolific fundraiser, she won a rematch two years later, and when redistricting turned her seat into a Republican stronghold, she switched to a blue-leaning neighboring district in 2022 and defeated fellow Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the primary. She easily won a fourth term last year from a redrawn seat after another round of redistricting.
Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is barred under state law from seeking a third consecutive term next year. Republicans could have a contested primary in the race to succeed him. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has already announced a campaign, while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Donald Trump ally, is raising money in advance of a potential gubernatorial bid.
Democrats have not won a gubernatorial election in Georgia since 1998. Former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, the losing Democratic nominee to Kemp in the previous two elections, has not yet revealed her plans for 2026.
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