ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Michael Thurmond has a long resume of public service, and now he wants to add governor of Georgia to the list.
On Wednesday, Thurmond declared his candidacy for Georgia’s top office for 2026, stating his commitment to “fight for the people of Georgia every day.” He also presented himself as capable of uniting diverse racial and political groups, aiming to be the first Democrat in 28 years to hold the state’s highest position.
In a Tuesday interview, Thurmond pledged to be a leader who would “focus on the everyday issues that most Georgians are concerned about, such as the cost of groceries or rent or paying the mortgage, access to health care, and frankly, ending the divisiveness that has hampered our progress in this state.”
The 72-year-old Thurmond enters a Democratic race that already includes state Sen. Jason Esteves, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and others vying for the nomination to succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is ineligible to run after serving two terms.
Thurmond is among only three Black individuals to have been elected to statewide office in Georgia, serving three terms as labor commissioner after his initial election in 2010. He also became the first Black state legislator from Athens since Reconstruction when elected in 1986. Along with all currently declared Democratic candidates, Thurmond is aspiring to become Georgia’s first Black governor.
In his 2010 Senate run, Thurmond faced a tough defeat against incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson, significantly trailing behind Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes that year.
Thurmond’s most recent role was serving two terms as the elected CEO of DeKalb County, a suburb of Atlanta, which had $150 million in reserves when he departed. He previously earned recognition for stabilizing the DeKalb County school system as interim superintendent after its accreditation was jeopardized due to financial mismanagement, board dysfunction, and nepotism. In the mid-1990s, Thurmond oversaw welfare reform as the director of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services after relinquishing his state House seat to pursue an unsuccessful congressional campaign in 1992. A lawyer by profession, Thurmond has also authored several books on Georgia history.
“I bring a record of service and accomplishment,” he said. “I, throughout my career, never shied away from taking on tough jobs.”
Both Bottoms and Esteves have showcased plans to oppose what they see as wrongheaded policies put forth by President Donald Trump, appealing to Democratic partisans who are fearful and angry. Thurmond says he too is a fighter, but frames it differently.
“It’s not fighting Trump,” he said. “I’m going to fight for Georgia residents.”
Some Democrats are also calling for a generational turnover in leadership, a trend that’s clearly apparent among the primary opponents of longtime U.S. Rep. David Scott. After more than four decades in politics, Thurmond said he believes a track record of success will be more important.
“The number one concern of the Democrats I talked to is that they want a candidate who can win,” he said.
Thurmond is the youngest of nine children born to a sharecropper. He was class president of Athens’ all-Black high school when it was consolidated with the historically all-white high school in 1970. Thurmond has said that until then he knew few white people, but as co-student body president, had to learn how to deal with others. He said part of his path to victory is to pursue the “better angels” of voters in the same way that got him elected labor commissioner.
“It’s not a hypothetical for me. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve experienced it,” Thurmond said. “And consequently I come into this race with great faith in this state and the people of Georgia.”
