Georgia
Who's running
Rick Jackson grew up poor in Atlanta and spent time in foster care. He started a medical staffing business in 1978 and founded Jackson Healthcare in 2000. The company brings in more than $3 billion a year. He had never run for office before. He entered the race in February 2026 and spent more than $83 million of his own money in the primary. He finished second in May, then beat Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the June 16 runoff, 52.6 to 47.4.
- Cut the state income tax in half.
- Freeze property taxes.
- Expand Medicaid only if it does not put existing federal money at risk.
- Require local community approval for data centers.
Keisha Lance Bottoms was born in Atlanta. She worked as a prosecutor and a magistrate judge. She served on the Atlanta City Council from 2010 to 2018, then was mayor from 2018 to 2022. After that she ran the White House Office of Public Engagement for President Biden. She won the May 19 primary outright with 56 percent. She would be the first Black woman to serve as governor of any state.
- Expand Medicaid.
- Let local governments drop sales taxes on groceries.
- Build more housing and fully fund schools.
- Pause new data center construction.
The tea ☕
- In the primary, Burt Jones accused Jackson of making his fortune "recruiting for Planned Parenthood" and of funding transgender surgery for minors. Jackson denied it and sued Jones for defamation, then dropped the suit in September.
- Trump and Gov. Kemp both endorsed Jones first. After Jackson won the runoff, both switched to him. Jackson has said he would be "Trump's favorite governor" and "just like Trump, but with a Southern tone."
- The October 6 town hall was the only joint event. Jackson said "bad mayors don't make good governors." He skipped the October 12 debate, so Bottoms answered questions alone and hit him on the six-week abortion ban and his ties to Trump.
- Pro-Jackson groups spent or reserved nearly $76 million in general election airtime versus about $8 million for Bottoms and her allies. Jackson had put at least $108 million of his own money into the race through June.
- The polls say Jackson by a point or tied, but prediction markets give Bottoms about 70 percent. Democrats have not won a Georgia governor's race since 1998.