Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson will hit the debate stage in Georgia's gubernatorial race. When and how many times, however, seems to still be up in the air.
Bottoms, the Democratic nominee, and Jackson, the Republican nominee, have both agreed to two debates later this fall ahead of the Nov. 3 election, but multiple others have been agreed to by one candidate or the other.
Bottoms is the former mayor of Atlanta, and has the support of her fellow Democratic nominee at the top of the ticket in Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff, as well as figures like current Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, former President Joe Biden, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and others.
Jackson, a healthcare CEO and billionaire, is the Trump-backed candidate
who beat out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a tight primary and has since garnered support from Gov. Brian Kemp, former Florida Governor Rick Scott and more.
Now, both candidates are attacking the other for not accepting the same debates, and challenging each other to spend more time in front of the camera answering difficult questions.
Here's what we know about governor debates so far.
Bottoms and Jackson will debate in October
Bottoms and Jackson have now both publicly agreed to two televised debates.
A town hall debate hosted by Atlanta News First will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, according to the news outlet, and streamed across all Gray Media stations in Georgia. The town hall style will allow undecided local voters to ask questions directly of the candidates.
They will also take the stage on Oct. 12 with the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young debate. It will be streamed live on YouTube and broadcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting at 8 p.m., and will last an hour.
Both candidates have stated they would participate in additional debates should the dates, times and rules be agreed upon.
The debate about debates
Despite two debates being scheduled, Jackson and Bottoms have continued to attack one another over the debate schedule and timeline, each saying the other is shying away from questions of accountability.
"Georgians deserve to hear directly from candidates for public office with multiple debates around the state," Bottoms said in a statement Monday morning. "I'm ready to debate Rick Jackson in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. It's time for Slick Rick Jackson to stop hiding behind his billions of dollars made off of insider state contracts and to start debating the issues that matter to Georgia families."
Bottoms announced she also agreed to a total of six debates, including those hosted by Middle Georgia Matters, 11Alive, WJCL-TV and CNN, and she challenged Jackson to also attend.
In response, Jackson said he had agreed to additional televised debates 52 days ago, including the one hosted by ANF that was announced Monday.
"Only the flailing campaign of a failed politician would spend more than six weeks ducking a debate, then suddenly demand six of them after Georgians begin to learn the truth about her disastrous record as mayor of Atlanta. The fact is Keisha Lance Bottoms has become desperate and can't talk her way out of what she did to Atlanta," Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for the Jackson campaign, said in a statement Monday.
Who leads in Georgia governor's race?
Recent polls have shown Bottoms and Jackson neck-and-neck in the governor's race, with Jackson barely pulling ahead of Bottoms in recent weeks.
The most recent poll, published by Insider Advantage in August, had Jackson at 46.3%, Bottoms at 46.2%, and 7.5% undecided. With a margin of error of 3.46%, the poll was effectively tied.
Previous polls have shown an incredibly tight race:
- 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.
Contributing: Miguel Legoas
Irene Wright covers Georgia politics and elections 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: Governor's race takes center stage. When will Bottoms, Jackson debate?
