Rick Jackson Narrows Gap in GA Governor's Race, and Strategies Like This Are One Reason Why

Amid the battle for control of the House and Senate, there's been a lot of focus nationally and locally on key House and Senate races across the country, to the extent that some other important races have sort of gotten lost in the shuffle.

The Georgia governor's race is one of them.  The two nominees are former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) and Jackson Healthcare founder Rick Jackson (R).  A casual observer might think Bottoms would have the slight advantage here since Jackson is a virtual newbie to politics and Bottoms is the more well-known of the two in the state. But as RedState readers are well aware, being "well known" in your state when you're running for higher office can sometimes be a disadvantage, because usually there is a documented trail of statements you've made, actions you've taken, and political stances you've made clear for the record, all things that are ripe for a political newcomer to potentially exploit.

Rick Jackson isn't particularly flashy, but as a man with humble beginnings who built an immensely successful business - with the receipts to back it up - he seems grounded, focused, and honestly in his element among Peach State residents, content with the race between himself and Bottoms not becoming a nationwide spectacle with the flashing lights and agenda-driven reporters from national news outlets trying to play the gotcha games they typically do with Republican candidates.

For Republicans in general, the Georgia Senate race between Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) and Rep. Mike Collins (GA-10) has been frustrating to watch for many reasons, not the least of which is the MSM cheerleading for Ossoff and the massive amount of out-of-state funding the incumbent senator has received - and sought - in this race.

But for Republicans who are looking for something to cheer for in the current Georgia election matchups, they need to pay attention to Jackson, who has managed to narrow the gap in polling between himself and Bottoms to the extent that - unlike the Senate race - the gubernatorial race now stands at a virtual tie in polling, with the most recent one showing Jackson actually taking a three-point lead over Bottoms, though that is within the Rasmussen poll's margin of error.

Rasmussen Reports poll | 9/14

Georgia Governor 2026

🟥Rick Jackson 48%
🟦Keisha Lance Bottoms 45%

Link to poll: https://t.co/g5mC50BQSJ pic.twitter.com/k3bdEaP6Y6

— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) September 16, 2026

How has he done it? One way has been to bring up some painful memories for Georgia voters, like reminding them of the Georgia Democrats who either supported or looked the other way when Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star game from Atlanta over the 2021 election reform bill signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp (R), which Democrats demagogued as "Jim Crow 2.0." 

Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta at the time, and she tried to straddle the fence on the issue, claiming she didn't support the boycotts and the game being yanked because it would hurt Atlanta families - the same families already hurt by her COVID mandates. But she blamed Georgia Republicans for why it was happening rather than the businesses and organizations that participated in the boycotts - boycotts that were brought on because Democrats like Bottoms lied about the supposedly devastating impact the law would have on voting rights for black residents:

Just as elections have consequences, so do the actions of those who are elected. Unfortunately, the removal of the @MLB All Star game from GA is likely the 1st of many dominoes to fall, until the unnecessary barriers put in place to restrict access to the ballot box are removed.

— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) April 2, 2021

Except there were no "barriers," as primaries and elections in Georgia since the law passed have seen record turnout among Democrats and Republicans alike. So much for "voter suppression."

In the fall of 2021, and as Atlanta businesses (many of which are owned by minorities) were still feeling the economic pain from the loss of the All-Star game along with the COVID restrictions, Bottoms sat down with political ally and activist Killer Mike, who brought up the All-Star game and the boycotts, pointing out that losing the All-Star game was an own goal for Democrats.

How did Bottoms respond to the comment? By smiling and gushing over the fact that then-Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D), whom she described as a "good friend," had gotten a "chance to own it." Later in the interview (which is not in the clip below), she continued falsely blaming Republicans for what happened (scroll to the 16-minute mark here for the full clip) rather than take responsibility for corporate actions that were inspired by false statements made by her and other Democrats about the election reform law.

Watch:

Killer Mike: “We [Atlanta] lost the All-Star Game. I thought that was a big mistake.

We lost ~$40 million in terms of losing the All-Star Game.

It didn’t feel very good to me, and I felt like some people didn’t say, ‘Man, we should’ve thought about that a little longer before… https://t.co/n6ufEG7k3O pic.twitter.com/DBtpOGlfDb

— Team Jackson (@TeamJacksonHQ) September 17, 2026

Bottoms and her campaign undoubtedly will dispute this characterization of what her position was on the issue. But what that will do is allow Jackson and his team to effectively counter her by again reminding people that every Democrat who lied about that law - including Bottoms, Stacey Abrams, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Joe Biden, and others - was ultimately responsible for the boycotts and economic harm that followed. 

Just like the Democrats here in North Carolina, including now-Senate nominee Roy Cooper (who was our Attorney General and running for governor at the time), about the HB2 "bathroom bill" were responsible for the negative press and economic loss some sectors here in NC saw in 2016 because Republicans in the state dared to be one of the first in the nation to stand up against the Alphabet Mafia and for women's safety.

Elections, as they say, have consequences. In the case of the Georgia governor's race, Jackson and the state's voters have the chance at the ballot box in November to prove to Bottoms that her lies and deception should have political consequences, too.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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