By Jill Nolin | Editor
Superintendent Richard Woods has found himself fighting for another term leading Georgia’s K-12 schools. He was forced into a runoff with another Republican who has found support from notable education-minded state lawmakers after being a whisker away from avoiding such a precarious scenario. But, as Jeff Amy reports today, to understand why Woods lost the support of the likes of House Speaker Jon Burns requires taking a long view.
Superintendent Richard Woods attends a bill signing ceremony for notable education bills in 2026. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
EDUCATION
By Jeff Amy
State Superintendent Richard Woods has told lawmakers multiple times that reading instruction in Georgia is on the right path – but they’re not buying it.
Now that discontent has helped drag Woods into a June 16 runoff for the Republican nomination with Candler County Superintendent Bubba Longgrear as he seeks a fourth term leading the state’s K-12 schools. The winner will face Democrat Lydia Powell in November.
“We can’t be the greatest state in the nation if our children can’t read,” said state Senate Education Committee Chairman Billy Hickman, a Statesboro Republican and the first lawmaker to endorse Longgrear.
A sign directing voters to the polling station at the Thomasville Recreation Center in Atlanta on Nov. 4, 2025. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
COMMENTARY
By Christian Conte
Voter fatigue in Georgia is real. Last Tuesday’s primary election was just the beginning.
Multiple contests – including for Republican primaries for U.S. Senate and governor – are headed to a June 16 runoff election.
Georgia law requires candidates to receive a majority of the vote (50% plus one) to win an election, thus forcing runoff elections if no candidate secures that majority. Most U.S. states only require a plurality to win: the candidate who earns the most votes wins outright.
The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to take up a case casting the Republican National Committee against a host of Democratic and voting rights groups over voting restrictions in Arizona. (Photo by Jim Small/Arizona Mirror)
VOTING RIGHTS
By Jonathan Shorman
The Trump administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to empower states to review their voter rolls for noncitizens just days before elections, a change that voting rights advocates say would risk disenfranchising Americans.
The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to wade into a legal fight between the Republican National Committee and a host of Democratic and voting rights groups over a series of voting restrictions in Arizona.
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