Candidates vie for Georgia's attorney general post

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) - Democrat and Republican candidates running for attorney general in Georgia sparred over various priorities for running the state’s largest law firm in a debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.

Republican Candidates

State Sens. Bill Cowsert and Brian Strickland both said they would uphold the priorities of President Donald Trump when leading the state’s legal branch. Strickland said he would target cities in Georgia attempting to avoid the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“When there is a detainer hold on someone that has been arrested, who has been in our country illegally, they should be deported at that time,” Strickland said.

In May 2025, the Department of Justice published a list of sanctuary cities and jurisdictions where elected officials did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, were on the list but later removed.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform said Atlanta has operated as a sanctuary city since 2017. In 2018, then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms stated that local police should not honor ICE detainers.

Georgia state law has prohibited sanctuary city policies since 2009.

The candidates also debated the investigation of Fani Willis, a Georgia prosecutor who indicted Trump for election interference in 2020. Willis faced intense scrutiny after allegations that she misused funds and engaged in a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

“There was no question she was unethical, Cowsert said. “She was using that office for personal gain, for profit and for political persecution rather than proper purposes of criminal prosecution.”

Cowsert also called on the attorney general’s office to prosecute election fraud. He introduced a resolution during the 2026 General Assembly session that would create a statewide grand jury to prosecute election fraud. The bill did not pass.

Cowsert criticized the Fulton County District Attorney's Office for its handling of election fraud cases.

“Our citizens need to know that their vote counts and that it’s a fair election and there’s no interference or fraud,” Cowsert said.

The candidates also feuded over past law experience and campaign endorsements. Strickland attended Florida Coastal School of Law, which closed in 2021, due to accreditation and funding issues.

Cowsert said the school’s closure “bothered” him and asserted that Strickland did not have the experience necessary to lead the attorney general’s office.

“I have tried over 500 trials throughout the state of Georgia,” Cowsert said. “There’s nobody that can match the experience, the understanding of the litigation process and the law.”

Strickland criticized Cowsert over a lack of campaign endorsements from Georgia sheriffs or district attorneys. He also appeared to criticize Cowsert as the longest-serving Republican state senator in Georgia.

“Every single sheriff that has endorsed in this race, every single elected prosecutor, has endorsed me,” Strickland said. “They know how important this race is. Politicians talk big, but they don’t have the backs of our law enforcement officials when they get in office.”

Democrat Candidates

Rep. Tanya Miller and former Rep. Robert Trammell debated over policies while seeking the Democratic nomination for Georgia’s attorney general post. The two democrats slammed the Trump administration and said they would seek to prosecute the president over various issues, including election interference.

“We’re going to fight the corporations that are keeping prices high by cheating and ripping off Georgia families and we’re going to hold Trump’s enablers accountable in court,” Miller said.

Trammell slammed Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, often referred to as the “heartbeat law,” which bans abortions once fetal heart activity is detected.

“When I’m attorney general, our office will not prosecute women and we will not prosecute doctors under that law,” Trammell said.

Trammell also called on the office of the attorney general to be more involved in the process of giving guidance on the types of laws coming out of the state’s general assembly.

Miller accused corporate real estate investors in Atlanta of price fixing to keep prices artificially high. She said she would target these investors if elected as attorney general.

“We have absolutely seen no action on behalf of Republicans to protect renters in that specific regard,” Miller said. “Under my administration as attorney general, we will absolutely protect people, especially in their time of need.”

Miller and Trammell also slammed Attorney General Chris Carr for his efforts to indict 61 people on racketeering charges after a 2023 protest at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

In December, a judge dismissed part of the case and said Carr did not have the authority to indict people with those specific charges. The judge said only local district attorneys could bring such charges.

However, Carr brought new indictments against three people on charges of money laundering and setting construction equipment on fire.

Miller said she would review every indictment Carr brought against individuals and evaluate it with a determination of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“When you indict people with a crime, you put their lives on the line,” Miller said. “You need to know what you're doing. You need to understand the rules, and you need to make sure that the evidence suits every individual and every charge that you have levied.”

Trammell also said he would evaluate the charges brought against those individuals and would most likely dismiss them. He said he has no plans to extensively evaluate Carr’s actions as attorney general.

“We're not going to bring the broom to try to clean that up for the present attorney general,” Trammell said. “We're going to evaluate them and in most cases, a lot of those cases are going to be dismissed.”

Early voting for the May 19 primary runs through May 15.