Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced on Wednesday a Democratic gubernatorial campaign to succeed outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). 

Thurmond, who has also served as Georgia’s Labor Commissioner and superintendent for DeKalb County Schools, joins a crowded pack of Democratic candidates vying to flip the state’s governor’s seat ahead of the 2026 election. After more than four decades in politics, Thurmond said he has the experience necessary to win what will likely be a competitive campaign against Republican challengers in the swing state. 

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“The number one concern of the Democrats I talked to is that they want a candidate who can win,” he said, adding his campaign’s platform will focus the the “fight for working families, protect and expand access to healthcare, and build an education system that creates multiple pathways to success.”

“I bring a record of service and accomplishments,” Thurmond said. “I, throughout my career, never shied away from taking on tough jobs.” 

State Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the White House under former President Joe Biden’s administration, and Atlanta pastor Olu Brown have already thrown their hats into the race ahead of the Democratic primary. Former Republican Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who recently switched parties, has also speculated he may run for “higher office.”

While the once firmly red Georgia has been viewed as more of a swing state in recent years, Thurmond’s party could still face long odds in claiming the governor’s mansion. If he wins, Thurmond would become the first Democrat to win the state’s top office in 28 years.

Thurmond teased his gubernatorial campaign during a July appearance at the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia’s Annual Congress of Christian Education in Albany. 

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“I’m not going to talk long today because they only gave me four minutes,” he joked. “ I ain’t going to stay long, but y’all invite me next year, when I’m running for governor, I’m going to be up here for a while.”

On the Republican side, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones have announced gubernatorial runs. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) weighed in on speculation last month that she would be running, telling observers that she had decided against doing so partly due to concerns about sexism in Georgia’s “good ‘ole boy system.”