With less than a month to go before early voting starts in Georgia, the governor's race remains as close as ever. But, there is a new leader.
New polling from Rasmussen Reports finds Rick Jackson, a healthcare CEO and billionaire, slightly edging out Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, to lead the governor's race for the Republicans.
The two candidates have been closely matched for much of the general race, after Bottoms cleanly won the Democratic primary and Jackson beat out Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for the Republican nomination in a close primary runoff.
For weeks, Bottoms held a slight lead over Jackson, who entered the governor's race late and threw his personal fortune into his campaign to supersede the Trump-endorsed primary
candidate.
Now, however, the tides appear to be turning to favor Jackson in the race's final weeks.
Jackson earns slight edge over Bottoms
According to polling published Sept. 16 from Rasmussen Reports, if the election were held today Jackson would earn 48% of the vote while 45% would go to Bottoms. Another 7% are undecided, a large enough margin to swing the race one way or another.
Both maintain strong leads within their own parties. Jackson is supported by 89% of Republicans, and 88% of Democrats support Bottoms. Among unaffiliated voters, 43% said they would support Jackson, 41% said they would support Bottoms and another 16% said they were unsure, according to the report.
There are larger divides, however, between genders, races and ages.
Men favor Jackson 53% to 38%, while women favor Bottoms 51% to 44%.
Of the Jackson supporters, 66% are white and 18% are Black, while the opposite is true of Bottoms with 77% support from Black voters and 27% from white voters.
Bottoms performs stronger with young voters, earning 58% support from those under the age of 30. Jackson leads among voters older than 65, earning 63% support in that age group. A previous AARP poll found the election in Georgia could be decided by older voters.
Five previous polls have found the race tight throughout the general season:
- Quantus Insights has Bottoms ahead at 46.4%, Jackson at 44.9%, and 7.7% undecided.
- AARP has Bottoms ahead at 48%, Jackson at 46%, and 5% undecided.
- State Navigate has Bottoms ahead at 51%, Jackson at 44%, and 5% undecided.
- Fox News has Bottoms ahead at 52%, Jackson at 48%, with no accounting for undecided voters.
- Wick has Jackson ahead with 43.2%, Bottoms at 42.7%, and 14.1% undecided.
Jackson spends nine times as much on ads
In a financial analysis published by AdImpact on Sept. 15, Republicans, in this case Jackson, is outspending Bottoms on advertisements nearly 10-to-1.
In future linear ad reservations, Republicans have spent $40.5 million, while Democrats have only spent $42,000.
In general election campaigned aired spending and future reservations, Jackson has spent $75.8 million, compared to Bottoms' $8.2 million. Bottoms' funding, however, largely comes in coordination with Project Battleground that has spent $7.9 million of Bottoms' total.
Jackson has been clear since the beginning of his campaign he is spending his personal funds, rather than working with a political action committee or with outside funding from the Republican Party.
In a disclosure form shared by the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions's Greg Bluestein, Jackson's net worth exceeded the possible reportable amount, and his campaign said his actual net worth exceeds $3 billion.
When does voting begin in Georgia?
Early voting in Georgia will begin on Oct. 13 and run until Oct. 30. Voting times and locations may vary between precincts, so check your My Voter Page for specific information for your area.
The registration deadline for the general election is Oct. 5. Georgia voters can check if they are registered here.
The general election will be held on Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all voting locations.
If a runoff is needed, it will be held on Dec. 1 with early voting taking place between Nov. 23 and Nov. 25.
Contributing: Miguel Legoas, Savannah Morning News
Irene Wright covers midterm races in Georgia 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: New Georgia governor poll shows race still tight — but with new leader
