Debate events covering the state's top elected offices have been a fixture of the Atlanta Press Club's programming for over thirty years. That pattern held when the midterm election cycle got underway this year.

Debate broadcasts carried by Georgia Public Broadcasting brought the leading contenders before cameras at an Atlanta sound stage, where each participant took a place at a podium. All contenders at the Loudermilk-Young debates sought their party's nomination for the November ballot, conducting themselves in line with the established format those forums have long followed.

At the April debate kicking off the Republican governor primary contest, Rick Jackson took the stage alongside six other candidates as a panel of reporters put questions to the field. When the runoff debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club convened, Jones took his position at the podium while Jackson's spot across from him sat unoccupied.

With the general election nearing its end, Jackson has again chosen not to take part in a debate alongside Democratic contender Keisha Lance Bottoms — a development that leaves the press club without a governor's race forum featuring both candidates for the first time in three decades. No one else is scheduled to join Bottoms at the event.

Debate commitments put forward by Jackson several months back were restated when September got underway. A one-on-one town hall event with Atlanta News First was set for Tuesday, Oct. 6, with Jackson committed to taking part at 8 p.m. in Atlanta.

The debate, moderated by Rick Folbaum of "On the Record," drew questions from Georgia voters who had yet to make up their minds. Campaign spokesperson Garrison Douglas stated in July that the format was designed to let voters pose their own questions, hear direct responses, and draw their own conclusions about who should lead Georgia ahead. The Jackson campaign told a news outlet on September 1 that Jackson would not participate in the Atlanta Press Club debate, choosing instead to continue a schedule of more than 150 events around the state where he could speak with voters directly.

Douglas described the ANF town hall as the defining debate of the electoral race in remarks made to a prominent broadcast outlet. Lauri Strauss, who serves as executive producer of the debate series, told Capitol Beat on Sept. 22 that the Jackson campaign had once more chosen not to accept the invitation.

Of the six general-election debates Bottoms committed to, just one featured ANF as a participating party. On September 17, Bottoms took the stage at a Macon venue without Jackson, who chose not to participate, and used the occasion to speak to voters rather than engage in a head-to-head exchange. She noted at the event that the forum would be broadcast and streamed, giving the public a direct look at her policy vision for the state alongside a chance to weigh it against her opponent's.

Bottoms' team conveyed to a prominent broadcast outlet that, regardless of Jackson's absence, the former Atlanta mayor plans to take part in the Atlanta Press Club debate at its originally scheduled time on Monday evening.

Polling data from a pair of surveys on the gubernatorial contest placed both candidates within the statistical margin of error, leaving their standing too close to call. According to Rasmussen Reports data released on Sept. 16, Jackson held a three-point edge over Bottoms, drawing 48% of respondents against her rival's 45%. That polling organisation also recorded a 7% share of voters yet to make up their minds, a proportion large enough to shift the contest in either direction.

According to a YouGov survey, the two candidates were separated by a single percentage point, with Jackson drawing 45% support against Bottoms at 44% across the full voter pool. Within that same survey's more restrictive segment — respondents who had voted in 2024 and committed to returning to the polls in November — Jackson's lead over Bottoms reached 47 percentage points.

Quantus Insights put the contest within two percentage points across the general season — Bottoms drawing 46.4%, Jackson 44.9%, and 7.7% of respondents yet to make up their minds — a pattern consistent with four other surveys that tracked the same narrow gap. In an AARP survey, Bottoms held a two-point edge over Jackson — 48% to 46% — with 5% of respondents yet to make up their minds.

According to polling from State Navigate, Bottoms held a 51-percent share of support against Jackson's 44 percent, leaving roughly one in twenty voters without a preference. One outlet's poll put Bottoms at 52 percent and Jackson at 48 percent, though the figures left undecided voters out of the count entirely. According to the Wick survey, Jackson held a narrow lead at 43.2% against Bottoms at 42.7%, with 14.1% of respondents yet to make up their minds.

Several debates remain on the Atlanta Press Club's calendar. On Monday, October 12, the debate card pairs Greg Dolezal against Josh McLaurin in the Lieutenant Governor contest, Brian Strickland against Tanya Miller for Attorney General, Tim Fleming against Penny Brown Reynolds for Secretary of State, Fitz Johnson against Peter Hubbard in Public Service Commission District 3 — though Johnson has yet to confirm his participation — Josh Tolbert against Shelia Edwards in Public Service Commission District 5, and Rick Jackson against Keisha Lance Bottoms for Governor, with Jackson having indicated he will not be present.

On Tuesday, October 13, the School Superintendent contest pairs Richards Woods (R) against Lydia Powell (D); the Agriculture Commissioner race features Tyler Harper (R) and Katherine Juhan-Arnold (D); John King (R) and Keisha Waites (D) appear on the ballot for Insurance Commissioner; the Labor Commissioner position draws Bárbara Rivera Holmes (R) and Nikki Porcher (D); and the U.S. Senate seat puts Mike Collins (R) opposite Jon Ossoff (D).