(Editor’s note: today columnist Jack Bernard begins a four-part series on top Republican candidates for governor. They will continue on Fridays for four weeks.)–eeb
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | If you are like most people, you probably have not been keeping up with the GOP primary race for governor of Georgia. The General Primary Election will be held May 19, 2026. Voters must understand the field so that we are not saddled with the wrong person for four years.
Georgia ended up with seven Republican candidates, three of whom are virtual unknowns. The four major candidates for the GOP nomination are Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, businessman Rick Jackson, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.
Let’s start with Jackson, the previously unknown “outsider” who suddenly is funding advertisements all over our TV screen. Jones, Carr and Raffensperger will be covered in coming weeks.
First, let’s state the obvious. Jackson, a self-made man who admirably rose from poverty, is obviously trying to use his vast wealth as founder of the Jackson Health company to buy the primary nomination.
He is not the first to try to buy into politics. We have a crypto billionaire in the White House who also had no political experience before 2016. But Jackson has been even more blatant about his plans, stating that he will be spending $50 million of his own funds on the campaign which he just entered in February.
However, I suspect that he has been looking at the race since late last year. Jackson suddenly gave the Trump campaign PAC a $1 million donation in December.
Plus, for the last few months, an anonymous shadowy group called “Georgians for Integrity” has been filling the airwaves with $9 million in ads slamming Lt. Governor Burt Jones on a variety of ethical issues. Although no one has taken credit for funding this mysterious group, which is very strange, it is not hard to theorize as to where their money is coming from. Speculation is that Jackson is rightfully hesitant to attack Jones directly in that Trump has already endorsed the lieutenant governor, a “false elector” who attempted to change the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election to make Trump president.
As for the issues, his positions have not been spelled out in detail. Jackson has decided to simply parrot the MAGA line. His far-right direction is clear- total support for ICE and Trump’s deportation efforts, while opposing traditional civil rights (i.e., DEI-diversity, equity and inclusion) and anything that could even vaguely be considered “woke.”
Jackson proposes to cut state income taxes in half in four years and eliminate them entirely in eight years, rather than improve state services like Medicaid expansion for the working poor.
Let’s ignore the fact that 18 percent of Georgians in ages 18-65 have no medical insurance. Or the fact that, because of medical bills (not high taxes), Georgia has more bankruptcies per capita than almost any other state. That’s a mistake, given that Georgia voters believe it to be the second most important election issue, right after the economy.
Jackson also wants to freeze local property taxes. He does not indicate how local governments can pay the day-to-day county operations and improve Georgia’s deteriorating roads and vital infrastructure.
Obviously, Rick Jackson’s strategy is to enter the race and outspend the others. He knows he will not get a majority of primary votes and can hope only to be in a run-off.
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