2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
High confidenceHigh confidenceBacked by government records or the candidate's own official statements, with agreement across several independent sources.What would raise it: Nothing missing — this is the strongest evidence tier.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Expanding Medicaid in Georgia to cover uninsured residents and protect rural hospitals.
Guaranteeing pre-K access for every four-year-old in Georgia and increasing education funding.
Lowering costs: suspending the state gas tax and encouraging cities and counties to eliminate local grocery taxes.
Eliminating state income taxes for teachers, and targeted tax relief for veterans and military retirees.
Protecting voting access — she has pledged to veto redistricting maps she judges to dilute minority participation — and establishing protections for election workers.
An ethics policy limiting a governor's business dealings with the state.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Mayor of Atlanta, January 2018 to January 2022.
Member of the Atlanta City Council for two terms before becoming mayor; previously an attorney and a Fulton County magistrate judge.
As mayor, imposed mask mandates and business restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and publicly clashed with Governor Brian Kemp over the severity of restrictions.
Led the city through the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd and the police killing of Rayshard Brooks; raised police and firefighter pay and launched the public safety training centre project.
Announced in 2021 that she would not seek a second term, becoming the first Atlanta mayor in decades not to run for re-election, and then served as a senior White House adviser to President Biden.
Won the May 19 2026 Democratic primary outright, without a runoff.
Arguments in favor
Her handling of the pandemic and the 2020 unrest means voters do not have to guess how she would govern in a crisis — she has already done it.
— Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, at an August 2026 campaign rally
She would expand Medicaid, which Georgia has not done, and would defend majority-Black voting districts that Republicans are seeking to eliminate.
— U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock
Her affordability agenda targets everyday costs directly — suspending the state gas tax and pushing cities and counties to drop grocery taxes — rather than cutting rates at the top.
— Keisha Lance Bottoms for Governor campaign, as reported by Capitol Beat and The Current
Arguments against
Her time as mayor was 'a disaster for Atlanta — crime skyrocketed, with incidents of homicide, rape, aggravated assault all surging due to her failed policies.'
— Courtney Alexander, Republican Governors Association communications director
She used taxpayer funds for personal-seeming expenses as mayor, including flights for her husband to the Super Bowl and about $11,000 on luxury car service, which raises questions about her ethics in office. Her campaign says the expenses were not personal and were repaid.
— Rick Jackson for Governor advertising campaign, August 2026
She walked away from Atlanta mid-crisis by declining to seek a second term after the city's worst years, and cannot be relied on to stay: 'I will never abandon you.'
— Rick Jackson, Republican nominee
What we couldn’t verify
Her exact campaign-finance totals: Georgia state filings with the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission could not be retrieved, so only reported spending comparisons are available.
Her position on Georgia's 2019 abortion law beyond general support for reproductive rights could not be established from a source read directly.
How she would fund Medicaid expansion given the legislature's composition.
Cutting the state income tax in half within four years and freezing property taxes immediately.
Raising teacher pay and making Georgia a national leader in childhood literacy, with career pathways for every type of student.
Supporting law enforcement and ending what he calls revolving-door justice; making Georgia first in the nation for deporting criminal illegal immigrants.
Cutting healthcare middlemen and increasing access to rural healthcare through technology.
Term limits, an audit of every state program for results, and what he describes as the strongest ethics laws in America.
Speeding up permanency for foster children and improving their access to mental health care.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Founded his first medical recruitment company in 1978 and Jackson Healthcare in 2000; the company now has more than 20 subsidiaries and over $3 billion in annual revenue.
Has never held elected or appointed public office.
Jackson Healthcare companies received more than $1 billion from Georgia state agencies between 2020 and 2026, including no-bid contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funded and helped pass the Fostering Success Act, which supports tuition-free college for Georgia foster youth; earlier efforts on medical malpractice reform and foster care privatisation did not pass.
Donated $1 million to a Trump-aligned super PAC in December 2025 and has given millions to the Republican National Committee.
The IRS sued Jackson Investment Group in 2024, alleging $72 million in underreported taxable income for 2019 and seeking about $38 million.
Led the May 19 2026 Republican primary with about 32.5% and won the June 16 runoff over Burt Jones by roughly 53%-47%, after spending more than $108 million.
Arguments in favor
He grew up in foster care and in poverty and then built a multibillion-dollar Georgia company, and he has already used that position to get the Fostering Success Act passed for foster youth.
— Rick Jackson for Governor campaign
As someone who has never held office and does not need the job, he can audit state programs and cut the income tax in half without owing anything to the people who run the current system.
— Rick Jackson for Governor campaign
Both President Donald Trump and Governor Brian Kemp — who had backed his opponent in the runoff — endorsed him afterwards, which his supporters present as evidence he can hold together a party that has been split between them.
— President Donald Trump and Governor Brian Kemp, as reported by The Hill and Forbes
Arguments against
He is 'a billionaire who made a fortune off taxpayer-funded no-bid contracts and is running to continue profiting from a rigged system that hurts everyday Georgians and small businesses,' and has refused to disclose the full list of his state contracts.
— Jake Strickland, Democratic Party of Georgia spokesperson
He promised to unwind his companies' business with the state if elected, then extended a state contract into 2027 — a fact that surfaced only through investigative reporting, not disclosure.
— Keisha Lance Bottoms, Democratic nominee
One of his companies, Avant Healthcare Professionals, settled a lawsuit for $3 million in June 2026 over allegations that it recruited and then exploited immigrant nurses.
The current status of the 2024 IRS suit against Jackson Investment Group could not be established.
What 'responsibly unwind' means in practice — no divestment plan or blind-trust arrangement has been published.
His exact campaign-finance totals for the general election: Georgia state filings could not be retrieved, so only reported spending figures are available.
His position on Georgia's abortion law could not be established from a source read directly.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Open seat: Republican Brian Kemp is term-limited. Roster established from Wikipedia's race page, Atlanta Journal-Constitution campaign coverage, NBC News and The Hill's reporting on the June 16 2026 Republican runoff, cross-checked. Keisha Lance Bottoms won the May 19 Democratic primary outright, avoiding a runoff. Rick Jackson led the May 19 Republican primary with about 32.5% and then beat Trump-endorsed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones roughly 53%-47% in the June 16 runoff. The Libertarian Party of Georgia reported in July 2026 that it could not gather the roughly 72,000 signatures needed for statewide ballot access, so no third-party candidate is listed. Georgia requires a majority to win; a runoff would follow on December 1 2026 if neither candidate clears 50%, which is now considered unlikely without a third candidate on the ballot.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Georgia ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.