Race of the Day: Jackson vs. Bottoms for Georgia governor

Who is Rick Jackson?

Jackson founded Jackson Healthcare, a medical staffing company, and is running for office for the first time. In the June 16 Republican runoff, he beat Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had President Donald Trump's endorsement, by about 53% to 47%, NBC News reported. NBC said Jackson had poured more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign.

On runoff night, Jackson talked about growing up in foster care and said he knows what it is like to feel unseen, according to NBC. Since the primary, both Kemp and Trump have backed him, HuffPost reported, and Trump rallied with him in Dalton this month.

At an Oct. 6 debate, Jackson said he wouldn't be beholden to Trump, owed nothing to anyone and would model himself on Kemp, according to HuffPost.

Who is Keisha Lance Bottoms?

Bottoms served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later worked in the Biden administration. She chose not to seek a second term as mayor in 2021, after a first term in which she was criticized over her handling of COVID-19 and crime, ABC News reported.

If elected, she would be the first Black woman governor in U.S. history and the first woman and first Black person elected governor of Georgia, according to ABC. She told ABC that her family has lived in Georgia for at least five generations and that the possible milestone feels deeply personal to her.

What does the AJC poll show?

The AJC/University of Georgia survey of 1,000 likely voters, taken Oct. 7 to 15, found Jackson at 46%, Bottoms at 45% and 8% undecided, AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein wrote. The poll was conducted by phone by UGA's School of Public and International Affairs. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, so the race is statistically even. The AJC publishes these toplines as whole numbers.

The AJC reported that independents favored Bottoms 43% to 38%, with 18% of them undecided, and that 41% of Georgia voters approved of Trump's job performance. Its headline said Democratic enthusiasm had the race "knotted" despite Jackson's spending advantage.

What are the candidates running on?

Both candidates have made cost of living a centerpiece. At the Dalton rally, Jackson promised to freeze and lower property taxes and to suspend the gas tax when prices spike, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. He also pledged to raise teacher pay and to fully back law enforcement, and said he would serve only one term, according to FOX 5.

Bottoms told ABC she has a "grocery tax relief plan" that would let local governments suspend or end the tax on groceries, which they collect. She also proposed ending taxes on diapers and feminine hygiene products and creating a state affordable housing trust fund. She said she would push back on the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies and on cuts to federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the CDC.

How have they attacked each other?

Jackson has focused on Bottoms' record as mayor. At the Oct. 16 Dalton rally, he argued that her time as mayor shows she would not be a good governor, according to ABC. ABC cited an AJC analysis that found violent crime in Atlanta rose 59% from 2019 to 2020, compared with 33% in other cities during that period.

Bottoms told ABC that crime had been falling in Atlanta before the pandemic. She blamed the increase on the pandemic and the state's early reopening. On leaving office, she said she completed the full four-year term she was elected to serve, and described the decision as a personal one, citing her family and health issues she hadn't discussed publicly.

Bottoms has made Jackson's spending a theme, telling ABC that voters, not money, will decide the race.

How big is the money gap?

The available figures cover different periods and measure different things. **Through July:** WRDW reported Oct. 13 that State Ethics Commission filings showed Jackson's campaign had spent nearly $114 million in total, while Bottoms' had spent about $5.2 million over the same period. **As of early October:** HuffPost reported Oct. 6 that Jackson had spent $62 million on ads, with $22 million more reserved, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, while Bottoms' main campaign committee had spent $12.5 million. Newer state filings could change these numbers.

Democrats have tried to close the gap. HuffPost reported that the Democratic Governors Association had put more than $8 million into the race, according to the group, and that Ossoff had given more than $3.6 million to the state party. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the DGA fully supports Bottoms, according to HuffPost. Bottoms' campaign manager, Tharon Johnson, argued in a statement to HuffPost that Jackson's heavy spending reflects weakness rather than strength.

Two Democratic billionaires have added to that effort. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is putting $1 million toward Bottoms' leadership fund, the AJC reported Oct. 21, citing Politico. Bottoms' campaign also confirmed to the AJC that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is steering at least $1 million of his $80 million late-election push to her race. Together that's at least $2 million, still a small share of what Jackson has spent.

Jackson's campaign says it isn't relying only on TV. Jackson declined ABC's interview request. In a statement, spokesperson Garrison Douglas said the campaign was pairing its media strategy with a large ground operation to turn out voters.

What are they doing in the final stretch?

Both candidates spent last week on turnout. Bottoms met with community leaders at the Latin American Association on Buford Highway to court Latino voters, WSB-TV reported Oct. 23. She said no candidate can win the state without Hispanic voters and that the race will come down to turnout. Jackson campaigned in Valdosta and Rabun County, WSB-TV reported, asking supporters for their votes and urging them to bring others to the polls. The station reported that Jackson wasn't expected at Trump's Saturday rally in Perry. On Monday, Bottoms planned to meet voters in Alpharetta, and Jackson was scheduled to campaign in western Georgia, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

What about early voting?

Georgia passed 1 million in-person early votes by noon on Oct. 20, a 12% increase from the same point in 2022, the Georgia Secretary of State's office said. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in that Oct. 20 statement that early voting was setting records each day. As of Monday morning, that was the office's most recent turnout announcement; it posts updated figures on its online data hub. Advance in-person voting ends Friday, Oct. 30, according to the state. Georgia doesn't report early votes by party.

How does the Senate race fit in?

The governor's race shares the ballot with one of the country's most-watched Senate contests. The AJC/UGA poll found Ossoff ahead of Collins 48% to 40%, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. A Collins spokesperson said the only poll that matters is the early voting now underway. FOX 5 also reported that the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, canceled $7.6 million in Georgia ad reservations.

Why does this race matter?

In its Oct. 23 ratings, the Cook Political Report listed Georgia as one of three governor's races rated Toss Up, along with Nevada and Wisconsin. Cook defines a toss-up as a race where either party has a good chance of winning. Georgia is also one of the states that could decide Senate control this year. A Bottoms win would end two decades of Republican governors. A Jackson win would show whether a self-funded political newcomer can hold the office after Kemp.

What we know

- The AJC/UGA poll shows a one-point race, within the margin of error, with 8% undecided. - Jackson has a large spending advantage, according to campaign filings and AdImpact data reported by WRDW and HuffPost. - Advance in-person voting ends Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

What we don't know yet

- How undecided voters and independents will break. - Whether record early turnout favors either party. - Whether either campaign will release new internal polling or spending figures before Election Day.

What happens next

Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to headline a rally in Atlanta with Ossoff and Bottoms on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and former Vice President Kamala Harris is expected in Georgia later in the week, with community town halls Thursday and a Fulton County Democrats fundraising event Friday, Atlanta News First reported Monday. Advance voting ends Friday, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, and the state's election calendar already lists deadlines for a possible runoff, according to Georgia.gov.

*Credits: reporting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ABC News, NBC News, HuffPost, FOX 5 Atlanta, WSB-TV, WRDW, Atlanta News First, the Georgia Secretary of State's office, the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Georgia.gov. NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*