Newsource reporters gathered information on each candidate in Northeast Georgia to prepare local voters for the midterm elections in this 2026 Election Guide.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Office Sought: Georgia governor
Party: Democratic
Occupation: Attorney, political commentator
Years in Community: Born in Atlanta
Candidate’s Election Priorities
Lowering costs by expanding Medicaid, stabilizing rural hospitals, creating a state prescription savings board, supporting small businesses, eliminating state income tax for public school teachers, allowing local governments to suspend sales taxes on groceries and household essentials during price spikes, restoring reproductive freedoms, expanding voting access, and bolstering law enforcement alongside violence-prevention and re-entry programs.
More Info for Voters
Website: keishaforgovernor.com | Social media: keishabottoms (Instagram), @keishabottoms (X), @KeishaforGA (Facebook)
Candidate FAQs
Q: Why are you running?
“To deliver for working families and stand up against the chaos coming from Washington,” she said on her website. Bottoms grew up in Georgia and wants to “build opportunities for working families like the ones she grew up in.”
Q: What experiences have prepared you for this office?
Bottoms was the 60th mayor of Atlanta and she focused on affordable housing, civil right reforms, economic opportunity for small businesses and a pay raise for Atlanta first responders. She has served in “all three branches of government, having previously served as a judge and a city councilmember.” She then served as the senior adviser to President Joe Biden. She also served for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association.
Q: What are the most important issues facing the state of Georgia?
Issue #1: Healthcare. “Keisha (Lance Bottoms) will lower healthcare costs for everyone by expanding Medicaid, ending the failed Georgia Pathways program, and replacing it with real coverage that actually works for families,” according to her website.
Issue #2. Housing. “(Bottoms’) housing agenda is focused on bringing costs down by building more housing and moving projects faster.”
Q: What is one accomplishment you hope to achieve during your office if elected?
“Healthcare is too expensive for too many Georgians,” Lance Bottoms said on her website. “Georgians in every community across our state are dealing with Republican leaders’ refusal to expand Medicaid and Donald Trump’s cuts that put healthcare at risk for nearly 1.5 million Georgians. As governor, I will take action to lower healthcare costs for Georgians, expand access to the healthcare services that Georgians need and recruit more healthcare workers across the state.”
*Bottoms did not respond to interview requests. Responses were from her website.
Rick Jackson
Office Sought: Georgia governor
Party: Republican
Occupation: Founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare
Years in Community: Born in Atlanta
More Info for Voters
Website: rickjackson.com | Social Media: @rickjacksonga (Instagram), @rickjacksonga (X), @rickjacksonGA (Facebook)
Candidate FAQs
Q: Why are you running?
“Rick Jackson is a Georgia businessman, philanthropist, and conservative outsider running for governor because he believes results matter more than rhetoric – and Georgia’s future depends on action, not talk,” according to his website.
Q: What experiences have prepared you for this office?
Jackson, whose business serves all 50 states, is a business owner with experience in leadership and acting under pressure, according to his website. “When China threatened to cut off antibiotic supplies during trade negotiations with President Trump, Rick stepped in and saved the last major antibiotic manufacturer in America — increasing production and sacrificing millions to ensure American lives came before profits,” according to his website.
Q: What are the most important issues facing the state of Georgia and what would you do to address them?
Issue #1: Affordability. Jackson plans to “freeze property taxes immediately to stop runaway assessments that price families out of their homes … cut the state income tax in half within 4 years … use technology and AI to eliminate wasteful spending and improve services … and freeze tuition, room and board at public colleges and technical schools,” according to his website.
Issue #2: Job Availability. “Georgia is the best place in America to do business, and as a business leader who built a company from the ground up, Rick Jackson will keep it that way,” as shared on his website.
Q: What is one accomplishment you hope to achieve during your office if elected?
He aims to lower costs, reduce taxes, increase jobs and grow opportunity, build strong schools and clear pathways for every child, make healthcare affordable, accessible and accountable, clean up government and restore public trust and keep Georgia families safe, according to his Jackson Action Plan.
*Jackson did not respond to interview requests. Responses are from his website.
