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The NPR Politics Podcast

Trump’s picks wins GA runoff for Senate, but not governor

6/17/202621 min

The results are in from Georgia’s Republican primary runoff contests for Senate and governor, and President Trump is one for two — the Senate candidate he backed won, but his gubernatorial pick did not. We discuss the results, plus how conspiracy theories about the 2020 election are still shaping Georgia politics. 

This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, political reporter Stephen Fowler, and political correspondent Ashley Lopez.

This podcast was produced by Bria Suggs and edited by Rachel Baye.

Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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Clips

Trump Litmus Test in Georgia
Election Policy Built on Conspiracy
$100 Million Shock in Primary
Rick Jackson Everywhere You Look
Brian Kemp's Big Losses

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

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  2. Miles Parks· Host0:25

    [upbeat music] Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Miles Parks, I cover voting.

  3. Stephen Fowler· Panelist0:34

    I'm Steven Fowler, I cover politics.

  4. Ashley Lopez· Panelist0:36

    And I'm Ashley Lopez, and I also cover politics.

  5. Miles Parks· Host0:39

    And we are recording today at 1:10 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026. Today on the show, key election results in Georgia. The state Senate and governor's races are now set after yesterday's primary elections, and for President Trump, the results were mixed. Steven, I want to start with the Republican primary runoff in the governor's race. Who are the candidates and how did this race unfold?

  6. Stephen Fowler· Panelist1:02

    So Miles, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is term limited. The race to replace him was wide open. You had several of the state's top officials running for the Republican nomination, but the runoff was between Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive outsider who jumped into the race last minute and has spent $100 million plus of his own money on this race. And ultimately, that was one of

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