Georgia — Governor

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports Medicaid expansion and rural healthcare

Bottoms proposes expanding Medicaid to cover 300,000 Georgians and ending the Georgia Pathways program. Her CARE Plan includes stabilizing rural hospitals, launching a Rural Care First Initiative, creating the Georgia Rx Savings Board, and expanding mental and maternal healthcare.

• Expand Medicaid to cover 300,000 Georgians and end the Georgia Pathways program.
• Launch a Rural Care First Initiative to expand EMS, mobile health, telehealth, and labor/delivery access.
• Create the Georgia Rx Savings Board to address prescription drug costs.

“It’s the difference between life and death for so many people — when you can’t get to a hospital, when you can access medical care, when you can’t see a doctor when you’re in need.”

“will lower health care costs for everyone by expanding Medicaid, ending the failed Georgia Pathways program, and replacing it with real coverage that actually works for families.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports market-based healthcare technology reforms

Jackson leverages his background as a healthcare staffing executive to advocate for technology-driven cost reduction and cutting out administrative middlemen. He aims to expand rural healthcare access and negotiate better pharmacy rates without expanding government entitlement programs.

• Use technology and AI in healthcare while cutting out middlemen that inflate costs.
• Increase healthcare access in rural Georgia.
• Negotiate better pharmacy rates for consumers.

“I’m the only candidate in this race who actually understands healthcare costs. I‘ve spent my life in it — I know where the costs are, I know where the wastes are, I know how the system works, and I know how it fails families.”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports targeted teacher tax cuts

Bottoms focuses on lowering everyday costs for working families by eliminating state income taxes for teachers and offering down payment and rental assistance. She emphasizes addressing cost of living challenges over national political rhetoric.

• Eliminate state income tax for teachers to recruit and retain educators.
• Provide down payment and renter assistance to lower housing costs.

“want to hear how we are going to address these everyday issues that are impacting their lives: cost of living, access or lack thereof to healthcare, education, access to jobs.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports property tax freeze income cuts

Jackson pledges to freeze property taxes immediately and reduce the state income tax by half within four years, aiming for full elimination in eight years. He also proposes freezing public college tuition, room, and board.

• Freeze property taxes immediately to stop runaway home assessments.
• Cut state income tax in half within 4 years and eliminate it within 8 years.
• Freeze tuition, room, and board at public colleges and technical schools.

“make Georgia the most affordable state in America by freezing property taxes, cutting the state income tax, eliminating wasteful spending, and raising standards in government and education.”

“if we can’t cut the state income tax in half and freeze property taxes, I won’t run again.”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports full funding and pre-K expansion

Bottoms seeks to fully fund public schools, modernize Georgia's education funding formula, and guarantee universal Pre-K and childcare. She also proposes financial literacy education and free technical and community college.

• Modernize the state education funding formula and fully fund public schools.
• Guarantee universal Pre-K and expand universal childcare.
• Establish free technical and community college for high school graduates and job-seekers.

“invest in education so our children have better pathways to success through career training or college.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports parental rights and DEI bans

Jackson focuses on strengthening the Parents' Bill of Rights, banning DEI programs and political indoctrination in classrooms, and prohibiting biological boys from competing in girls' sports. He also supports raising teacher pay, matching Trump Accounts for children, and expanding foster youth college access.

• Prohibit DEI programs and ideological indoctrination in public universities and school classrooms.
• Ensure boys do not compete in girls' sports or use girls' bathrooms or locker rooms.
• Push Georgia to match the $1,000 Trump Accounts contribution for every child.

“Schools exist to educate — not indoctrinate.”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports law enforcement and gun restrictions

Bottoms supports combining police enforcement with violence prevention, including expanding GBI resources and forensic assistance for smaller jurisdictions. She advocates for universal background checks, a red flag law, and reentry programs through the Prison to Work initiative.

• Expand GBI capacity, forensic resources, and specialized investigative assistance.
• Support universal background checks and a red flag law for gun safety.
• Strengthen prisoner reentry pathways through the Prison to Work initiative.

“requiring officers to intervene when seeing another officer using force that is beyond what is reasonable under the circumstances”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Opposes soft-on-crime bail policies

Jackson pledges full support for police officers, banning revolving-door justice, and rejecting soft-on-crime policies. He proposes a school-based public service announcement campaign to promote respect for law enforcement and addressing mental health in criminal justice.

• Fully support law enforcement with resources, training, and respect while banning revolving-door justice.
• Launch a PSA campaign in schools promoting respect for police.
• Combat the mental health crisis within the criminal justice system.

“Fully support law enforcement with resources, training, and respect”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Opposes ICE detainee cooperation

As mayor of Atlanta, Bottoms ended the city's agreement to hold ICE detainees, citing opposition to federal family separation policies. She frames immigration debate around human dignity and inclusive municipal policies.

• Signed an executive order permanently ending Atlanta's practice of accepting ICE detainees.
• Called federal family separation policies at the southern border inhumane.

“it is untenable for our City to be complicit in the inhumane immigration policies that have led to the separation of hundreds of families at the United States southern border.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports deporting criminal illegal immigrants

Jackson pledges to partner with President Donald Trump to enforce immigration laws aggressively. He vows to make Georgia the top state in the nation for deporting criminal illegal immigrants.

• Make Georgia number one in the nation for deporting criminal illegal immigrants.
• Work directly with President Trump to protect Georgians from federal immigration failures.

“Make Georgia number one in the nation for deporting criminal illegal immigrants”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports dedicated small business office

Bottoms plans to restructure the Georgia Department of Economic Development by establishing an Office of Small Business dedicated to firms with under 25 employees. She aims to expand small business loan programs and ensure equitable distribution of state investment dollars.

• Restructure the Department of Economic Development to create an Office of Small Business and Deputy Commissioner.
• Expand state small business loan and grant programs for firms under 25 employees.
• Ensure small businesses receive a fairer share of state economic development incentives.

“want to hear how we are going to address these everyday issues that are impacting their lives: cost of living, access or lack thereof to healthcare, education, access to jobs.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports business deregulation and entrepreneurship

Jackson pledges to make Georgia the top state for entrepreneurship by recruiting jobs statewide and turning rural Georgia into a 21st-century job hub. He proposes creating a Legacy Corridor Initiative across historic commercial districts and expanding capital access for early-stage companies.

• Make Georgia the #1 state for entrepreneurship and recruit jobs to every region.
• Establish the Legacy Corridor Initiative across six historic commercial districts.
• Connect start-up and early-stage companies to private capital and ownership programs.

“Georgia needs an outsider — not a career politician — who will cut taxes, lower costs, secure the state, and make government work for the people”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports family farms and tariff relief

Bottoms proposes assisting family farmers to retain land, offering sustainable agriculture and forestry training, and forming agricultural cooperatives. She also pledges to protect Georgia producers from economic harm caused by federal trade tariffs.

• Keep farmland in family hands through land preservation and training initiatives.
• Promote cooperative agricultural models to pool resources and expand market reach.
• Protect Georgia farmers from trade disruptions and federal tariffs.

“fight to support farmers harmed by Trump’s tariffs and trade chaos.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports affordable capital for farmers

Jackson promises to provide cost-effective capital options for agribusinesses and help farmers negotiate lower prices for equipment and input costs. He aims to ensure Georgia Grown agricultural products remain competitive nationally.

• Provide efficient, cost-effective capital options for farmers and agribusinesses.
• Assist farmers in negotiating better prices for key agricultural inputs and equipment.
• Promote Georgia Grown products to expand market competitiveness.

“Stand with our farmers so Georgia Grown products can compete and win”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports voting rights and ethics reform

Bottoms advances a Democracy First Agenda to protect voting rights, expand early voting, defend local election officials from political interference, and make Election Day a state holiday. She also proposes a Taxpayers First Ethics Plan.

• Protect local election officials and rein in the State Election Board.
• Expand early and absentee voting while designating Election Day as a state holiday.
• Enact a Taxpayers First Ethics Plan for state government.

“push back on laws and actions that make voting harder, protect local election officials from political interference, rein in the out-of-control State Election Board”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports term limits and campaign finance limits

Jackson promotes government accountability by proposing strict term limits for state politicians, comprehensive program audits, and rigorous ethics standards. He also filed federal lawsuits against GOP primary rivals over Georgia's leadership committee campaign finance law.

• Enact term limits for all state politicians and audit every government program.
• Pass the strongest government ethics laws in America.
• Challenge leadership committee campaign finance exemptions in federal court.

“Enact term limits for all politicians”

“Audit every government program for results and effectiveness”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports veteran licensing and tax relief

Bottoms advocates making Georgia the premier state for veterans by recognizing military experience for civilian credentials and providing targeted tax relief for military retirees. She proposes state investments in veteran mental health, housing, and suicide prevention.

• Translate military training directly into civilian professional licenses and state jobs.
• Provide targeted state tax relief for veterans and military retirees.
• Expand childcare, mental health services, and housing support for military families.

“make Georgia the best state in the country for veterans and military families.”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports veteran licensing fee waivers

Jackson proposes waiving professional licensing fees for veterans and military families and delivering targeted healthcare access solutions. He also advocates creating a Governor's Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and a 24/7 support hotline.

• Waive state professional licensing fees for veterans and military spouses.
• Establish a dedicated Governor's Office of Military and Veterans Affairs.
• Create a 24/7 Veterans Support Hotline.

“Remove barriers to work by waiving professional licensing fees for military families and veterans”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports affordable housing fast-tracking

Bottoms focuses on lowering housing costs by creating the Georgia Housing Fast Track initiative to speed up permitting. She advocates cracking down on corporate home buyers, expanding down payment assistance, and establishing an affordable housing trust fund.

• Establish the Georgia Housing Fast Track initiative to streamline housing permits.
• Crack down on corporate landlords purchasing single-family homes.
• Create an affordable housing trust fund to support workforce housing.

“crack down on corporate landlords that are buying up houses and making it harder for families to buy a home or afford rent”

R Republican Rick Jackson

Supports foster youth assistance and work requirements

Citing his personal experience growing up in five foster homes, Jackson highlights his leadership on the Fostering Success Act, which provides tuition-free college for foster youth. He also advocates tying public assistance for able-bodied adults to mandatory work or job training.

• Enforce work or job training requirements for able-bodied adults receiving public assistance.
• Streamline foster care adoption processes to speed up child permanency.
• Expand mental healthcare access for foster children.

“Tie public assistance to work or job training for able-bodied adults”

“Believes kids should not be punished for circumstances beyond their control”

D Democratic Keisha Bottoms

Supports climate mitigation and data center limits

Bottoms proposes investing in flood mitigation, brownfield redevelopment, and resilient water infrastructure. She calls for slowing down the rapid expansion of data centers to protect community utility bills and water resources.

• Invest in flood mitigation, brownfield redevelopment, and municipal water infrastructure.
• Slow down and re-evaluate data center development to safeguard utility rates and water supplies.

“slow down and reassess the rapid expansion of data centers so families are not left with higher utility bills, strained water resources, and damage to surrounding communities.”