The candidates who won election in Georgia on Tuesday have made big promises to voters that many Black residents of Augusta want to see fulfilled.
Democrat Jon Ossoff will return to his U.S. Senate seat as part of the sweeping victory his party won on Tuesday, taking control of the House and Senate. Ossoff has stated he will lower housing costs. In 2025, he launched an investigation into large corporations and out-of-state companies buying up properties and passing on higher home and rental prices. The investigation contributed to the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The act aims to make housing more affordable by helping communities to build and preserve more homes. It also created a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) home loan program for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and medical first responders.
Augusta voter Ronald Eberhart told Capital B Augusta he fears what housing might cost in the future.
“I don’t have children, but for the ones who do have children, it’s going to be worse on them as they get older because they’re not going to be able to afford these $1,400, one-bedroom apartments,” Eberhart said.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Rick Jackson, a business leader, in the governor’s race, making history as the first Black woman elected as the chief executive of any state.
Stacey Abrams, who ran for Georgia governor in 2018 and 2022, was the first Black woman to win a major political party’s nomination for governor in any state. But one Augusta voter, Charnate Haynes, said of Bottoms, “This the first time I ever seen a Black person running for a governor. It means a lot. Black lives do matter.”
Bottoms, a Democrat, entered the gubernatorial race promising voters that she would lower healthcare costs. Her plan includes increasing the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid, including non-elderly, non-pregnant adults. They could earn up to about $21,000 a year, or up to 138% of the federal policy level.
Bottoms’ health plan also includes lowering prescription costs and giving patients a preview of what medications will cost through their insurance, cash payments, and discounts before they get to the pharmacy.
Augusta voter Zakiya Mabery spent Election Day advocating for people to vote at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. She tried explaining to people how their vote equated to a change in healthcare for Georgia.
“Your voice counts,” she said. “Your voice at the local level, the state level, the federal level is what helps with healthcare. It helps with children being able to have certain activities for school. It helps with a myriad of things,” said Mabery, founder of the Center for Community Awareness and Public Engagement.
Bottoms wants to strengthen Georgia’s pre-K program, making it universal to all families and make full-day Kindergarten a requirement. Currently, it’s optional because Georgia only requires school at age 6. Her plan details using casino gaming in the state to fund the expansion of the pre-K program and close the gap of around 52,000 4-year-olds currently not enrolled. An additional $330 million is the estimated cost of placing those underserved children in a classroom.
Nicole Wells, an Augusta voter, gave the winners-elect some advice. “For a governor or the senator of this state, just focus on what we need,” she said. “Take the overall politics out of it. You’re here to be representative of the people. Whatever the people of Georgia need in this state, Augusta specifically, just concentrate on that. Focus on that and I think they can’t do no wrong.”
Keisha Sean Waites clinched a victory in the Georgia insurance commissioner race. Her priorities, including promising a rate freeze initiative that aggressively reviews and challenges rate hikes for auto and home insurance, resonated with Eberhart.
“The gas prices high, taxes high on houses, car insurance is high,” Eberhart said.
Herman Kirkland Jr., who is also an Augusta voter, added that he wants state elected officials to help lower basic living costs.
“More affordable, everyday things like education and stuff for the house, not extravagant stuff, just stuff for the home,” Kirkland said.
Gary Addy agrees. “We got to make a change,” he said.“This economy, this society we’re living in is too expensive. We need to collectively come together and let our voices be heard.”
Regina Rouse added, “People doing Afterpay [a buy now, pay later service] for groceries. That’s crazy.”
Bottoms has a grocery and family essentials tax relief plan that she promoted as helping people who can’t cover basic expenses. She said the average Georgia household spends $8,960 on groceries annually. Her plan would give cities and counties the option to eliminate or temporarily suspend local sales taxes on groceries and other basic necessities and give targeted state assistance to communities that could face a resulting revenue loss. The state already exempts most groceries from its 4% sales tax, including unprepared foods, beverages and any foods purchased with state funding.
Augustans also voted in several Public Service Commission races. The winners, who become part of a regulatory board that sets utility rates, play a pivotal role in what people locally pay for gas and electricity.
“I hope they lower it and make it more affordable for everybody because it’s getting ridiculous. Especially with the power bill,” Kirkland said.
