Sunday Solutions — March 8, 2026
Good morning! ⏰ Did you spring forward? We may have lost an hour but we’ve gained a lot of news in the past few days from the legislature and candidates qualifying for the May primary election. There’s also uplifting news about Coastal Georgia’s best water source and something that might cut our most dangerous cravings. Dive in.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Time to do your homework
As of 12:01 p.m. Friday, the races are set. Candidates for the May 19 general primary and nonpartisan races are now official. With Coastal Georgia voters in mind, data reporter Maggie Lee has assembled lists of U.S. House and Senate, statewide and county candidates for quick reading. What does that mean for you? Time to grab all the info you can before you vote in the primary. And, it’s not a primary for nonpartisan races like judges and school boards — your vote in May will choose the winners. Bookmark this link to follow The Current‘s election 2026 coverage.
WHAT’S HOT: The contest to succeed longtime Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter drew 14 candidates. School and election boards have contested races and eight candidates are vying to fill three seats on the McIntosh County Commission. The Current‘s Craig Nelson has an overview of what to watch as campaigning ratchets up quickly.
Tracking millions in elections this year
Georgia voters will suffer through millions of dollars in campaign advertising this year, as thousands of candidates contest hundreds of offices from the U.S. Senate down to county water and soil supervisors.
It’s notoriously hard to figure out who funds these races, given the morass of various committees and groups allowed to raise money at the state and federal level — laws are different for each of course. But a good place to start to understand are the candidates’ own filings at the Georgia Ethics Commission, but also the analysis at OpenSecrets.org, a nonprofit that collects state and federal records and makes them easier to browse and understand.
NEWS: LEGISLATURE
Bills on the home stretch
Of the more than 4700 bills and resolutions from the two-year session, Friday was the last chance for many to rise for consideration. Crossover Day, the 28th day of the 40-day annual term, is the day where a bill must pass its chamber of origin to be considered from this point. Granted, some “dead” bills get combined into survivors, but for most, it’s over.
Friday brought a few winners and at least one obvious loser. Sports betting needed 120 votes to pass and only mustered 68. Winners that will move to the next chamber for consideration included approval for literacy measures in schools, repeal for tax credits for data centers, would allow pharmacies to sell birth control without prescriptions, and implement a property tax cap.
Other items: Bills that could raise penalties for protesters in public areas, shield some police shooting videos from public scrutiny, allow property owners to sue governments over homelessness, and hinder your ability to install small solar panels. Also of note, the state Senate voted to broaden ‘stand your ground’ laws that would make it harder to prosecute cases like the one that convicted the killers of Ahmaud Arbery.
We’ve added stories on all of this and more for you at one link.
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NEWS: FROM THE WEEK
Lions and aquifers and jobs
In case you’ve been outside enjoying the warmer weather and blooming azaleas, here are a few stories from the week we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss.
• Aquifer rebounds after International Paper closure: The purest water source serving the area shows highest levels in 70 years. From The Current‘s Mary Landers.
• Georgia job losses mirror national trend in February report: With nearly 1,000 layoffs at a north Georgia EV battery plant, eyes are on March numbers. From GPB News.
• Vietnamese-American youth maintain cultural legacy through lion dance: Students learn the moves to celebrate traditional Lunar New Year. From The Current‘s Justin Taylor.
• $32.5M wastewater plant proposed to meet Liberty County’s growth needs: County plans infrastructure to handle more housing and warehousing growth. From The Current‘s Robin Kemp.
NEWS: COMMUNITY
☕ Your second cup: Addiction cure?
The most-discussed drugs in the past few years are the GLP-1 medications that help people lose weight. They were first set to help diabetics and seriously obese patients, but they’ve expanded into roles no one expected: Quieting addictions like smoking. Smokers report they simply lose interest in nicotine’s lure. And, it works for other addictions, as well. Here’s a story from a researcher who sees endless possibilities to improve the nation’s public health after a giant study of 600,000 people. Enjoy.
Election 2026: Races to watch in Coastal Georgia
By Craig Nelson
With candidate qualifying now over, the race for Coastal Georgia’s U.S. House of Representatives seat is wide open, with 14 candidates from both parties vying for the seat, while other races in the region are also hotly contested.
Candidates for Coastal Georgia county offices in 2026 primary election
By The Current
Candidates for county races in Coastal Georgia counties have qualified to appear on the May 19th primary ballot, with a possible runoff election on June 16th and the general election on November 3rd.
Candidates for Georgia state offices in 2026 primary election
By The Current
Candidates for statewide offices for the Georgia primary election have qualified for the primary ballot on May 19 with a potential runoff election on June 16.
Georgia job losses mirror national trend in February report
By Grant Blankenship/GPB News
The February jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows the nation lost about 92,000 jobs in January, with Georgia seeing its share of job losses as well, with over 1,700 jobs lost from companies with at least 100 workers.
Senate votes to broaden ‘stand your ground’ laws in Georgia
By Mark Niesse/Capitol Beat
The Georgia Senate passed a bill that would expand “stand your ground” self-defense protections, a move that critics say could help protect defendants such as those who murdered Ahmaud Arbery.
Efforts to legalize sports betting in Georgia stall as lawmakers reject bill
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
A bill to legalize sports betting in Georgia failed to pass the state House on Friday, falling short of the 120 votes needed to pass, with 63 votes in favor and 98 votes against.
Georgia Senate votes to end tax breaks for new data centers
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
The Georgia Senate passed a bill that critics say does not protect consumers from data center costs, instead largely maintaining the status quo.
House passes property tax cap after earlier overhaul fails
By Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder and Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
House lawmakers passed a scaled-back version of a property tax relief plan that caps annual property tax increases at 3%, with proponents arguing it is necessary to stop the “unsustainable” trajectory of local property taxes and critics arguing it risks destabilizing local governments.
Hand-marked paper ballot bill fails ahead of deadline for changing Georgia’s elections
By Mark Niesse/Capitol Beat
Georgia senators voted down a bill that would have replaced the state’s voting method with hand-marked paper ballots, leaving lawmakers scrambling to find a way to remove QR codes from ballots before the November elections.
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