In a meteoric rise from political unknown to the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, Rick Jackson has used his vast personal wealth to help spread his message.
The healthcare CEO and reported self-made billionaire entered Georgia's governor's race late in the game, announcing his candidacy in February after President Trump had already endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for the state's top seat.
He quickly rose in the polls, making what could have been a relatively easy campaign for Jones into a two-person race. Jackson and Jones made it to a primary runoff, and in the final days Jackson pulled ahead, ultimately earning the nomination in June.
Jackson is a self-funded candidate, a key part of his political message that he can't be bought and isn't
beholden to outside special interests. After investing more than an estimated $100 million on the campaign so far, his team is continuing to funnel his personal wealth into the bank for his race.
Jackson is facing former Democratic mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms in the general election on Nov. 3.
Jackson announces $87 million ad buy
As the country reaches fewer than 100 days before the general election, Jackson's team announced he was putting another $87 million into ads to spread his campaign message across the state. It's the largest buy so far in the race.
"This is the largest general election buy of this race, and it reflects exactly how seriously we take the job of earning every vote in every one of Georgia's 159 counties," campaign spokesperson Garrison Douglas told Atlanta News First. "Rick Jackson has spent this campaign showing up in places candidates usually skip, and this buy makes sure all 11 million Georgians hear the same thing the people in those rooms have heard, which is that he is running to fight for them."
Jackson's ads in the past few months have ranged from focusing on his upbringing in the foster care system to telling immigrants they would end up "deported or departed" if he became governor.
More recently, he's focused his ad buys on attacking Bottoms and her record in Atlanta. Quotes from Bottoms play over the sounds of sirens and images of cars and buildings on fire in one ad titled "Never Again" posted in June.
He's also likely to start using clips from the recent visit from President Trump in his new round of ads, as he becomes the new Trump-endorsed candidate.
Trump gave a speech in Marietta last week intended to focus on the rollout of Trump Accounts. But, he spent much of his time on other topics like Iran and attacking Senator Jon Ossoff. He also took the opportunity to welcome Jackson on stage, marking the first public appearance between the two businessmen-turned-politicians. Jackson has often compared himself to Trump, and said on stage that ongoing affordability issues were a business problem, not a political one.
He also vowed to use his wealth once again as it relates to Trump Accounts. Jackson said he would push Georgia legislators to match the $1,000 federal contribution to the investment accounts for children, and that if they didn't support it, he would personally donate the money. There are more than 120,000 children born in Georgia each year, all of whom will now be eligible for the accounts, meaning it could cost millions to match the investments.
Jones, Bottoms accuse Jackson of 'trying to buy' Georgia
During the primary campaign, Jones repeatedly accused Jackson of thinking he could buy his way to the governor's seat. After the latest ad vow, Bottoms is taking on the same message.
"Rick Jackson is everywhere spending over $100 million trying to buy our vote," one Jones ad said. "But Georgia is not for sale."
In a statement from TaNisha Cameron, Bottoms' campaign spokesperson, the Bottoms camp pointed out that at least some of Jackson's wealth came from state contracts for health care services through Jackson's company, Jackson Healthcare. The company has an annual revenue over $3 billion, according to Forbes.
"Rick Jackson made a billion dollars off of taxpayer-funded contracts with the state for health care services, even while rural hospitals closed and Georgians lost health care coverage, and now he's trying to buy this election," Cameron said. "Jackson's in this for himself and to serve Donald Trump, and Keisha's the only candidate in this race who will stand up for Georgians."
Bottoms echoed this message during a recent "Mandate" town hall focused on Black male voters.
"I'm not mad about his money. But I am mad about the way that he is manipulating the narrative with his money," Bottoms said. "And for everybody who is taking money from him, God bless you. A good friend of mine who's probably in this room often reminds me: If you can be bought, you can be sold."
Bottoms also addressed the recent messaging surrounding Toast on Lenox, a Black-owned Atlanta restaurant that recently hosted a Jackson visit. Jackson accused Bottoms of cancelling the restaurant for speaking with Jackson, while Bottoms called the visit performative.
"The theatrics are nice, but what is the real worth? What are you actually doing? What do your policies stand for? I'm talking about the policies; it's not that I'm not making these stops, but I make these stops as part of my everyday life. I live in southwest Atlanta, and I am surrounded by Black businesses, so I don't have a camera crew with me every time I walk into one," Bottoms said at the town hall.
Irene Wright covers Georgia politics as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jackson accused of 'trying to buy' election after $87 million promise
