- State
- Georgia
- Office / race
- Governor
- Party
- Republican
- Reviewed
- October 24, 2026
Career timeline
- Won the Republican gubernatorial runoff.Source ↗
The Republican candidate for governor
Rick Jackson is the Republican nominee in Georgia’s November 3, 2026 gubernatorial election, facing Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms. AARP identifies him as the founder and chief executive of Jackson Healthcare, a staffing and workforce-services company. His campaign therefore asks voters to assess business leadership as preparation for an executive office whose responsibilities extend across the state’s public institutions.
The background he brings to the campaign
Jackson’s campaign biography describes growing up in Atlanta, including time in foster care and public housing. It says he left college when he could no longer afford it, worked in commission-based sales and later bought the company employing him. These are public autobiographical details he uses to explain his views on opportunity; they should not become a pretext for speculation about private family circumstances.
Sources: Campaign biography ↗
The route through the Republican contest
FOX 5 reports that Jackson defeated Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones in the June 16 Republican runoff. He and Bottoms are competing to succeed Governor Brian Kemp, who cannot seek another consecutive term. That result makes Jackson a general-election nominee, rather than simply one of the many early contenders whose names may still appear in older articles about the race.
Taxes and the economy
His action plan proposes cutting Georgia’s income tax in half within four years, restraining property taxes and using technology to reduce administrative costs. It also calls for more support for entrepreneurs, rural employment and agriculture. These proposals are campaign commitments, not an adopted budget. The central implementation question is how promised tax reductions would be reconciled with services and future revenue needs.
Sources: Campaign action plan ↗
Healthcare positions deserve precise dates
FOX 5’s October profile reports that Jackson’s Medicaid position evolved during the campaign. At the October 6 debate, he supported expansion while conditioning it on protection of existing federal funding; the coverage did not establish a complete implementation plan. That is more precise than describing him simply as for or against expansion without explaining the qualification or the date of the statement.
Children, education and foster care
Georgia Recorder’s voter guide identifies early reading, teacher pay, career education and improvements to foster-care placement among Jackson’s priorities. His personal experience in foster care is part of how he presents that agenda. Voters can use those specific proposals to test his broader promise of results, asking what administrative changes, staffing and funding would be necessary to meet the goals he describes.
Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.
