Jackson and Bottoms locked in tight Georgia governor's race ahead of Nov. 3

Mixed · 2Georgia's governor's race between Republican Rick Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is a dead heat days before the Nov. 3 election. The Cook Political Report lists it as one of only four tossups among 36 governor's races. 1 2 Centre · 1According to a Wall Street Journal report carried by the Hindustan Times, each candidate can point to a recent poll showing them narrowly ahead. Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie said, "It's still anybody's race." 1 Centre · 1Bottoms, 56, is a former one-term Atlanta mayor who later advised the Biden White House. She is trying to become the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history and to win an office Republicans have held for 23 years. Jackson, 72, is a political newcomer who built a healthcare staffing business and has put tens of millions of dollars into his own campaign. 1

Centre · 1Jackson's campaign attacks Bottoms over crime and unrest in Atlanta during her tenure, including after George Floyd's murder in 2020. One Jackson flier said, "As Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms LET ATLANTA BURN." 1 Right · 1Fox News opinion writer Gianno Caldwell argues that Bottoms "ran Atlanta into the ground". He cites Atlanta police data showing 157 homicides in 2020, up from 99 the year before, and says more than 200 officers left the department in 2020. He also says she blamed the pandemic, gun laws and Gov. Brian Kemp rather than taking responsibility. 2 Centre · 1Bottoms says she is proud of her record, which she lists as including higher pay for first responders and a balanced budget without higher property taxes. She says she wishes she had communicated her decisions better and that "there was no blueprint for 2020." Former Atlanta police chief Rodney Bryant said she made public safety a daily priority. 1

Centre · 1Bottoms accuses Jackson of cozying up to Donald Trump, noting that he pledged in the primary to be Trump's "favorite governor" and later distanced himself as the president's ratings fell. She also criticises his legal fights and business interests. Trump has campaigned with Jackson, calling him a "great patriot". Jackson at first said he would skip an Oct. 24 Trump rally in Perry, then reversed course and praised the president onstage. 1 Mixed · 2Both candidates have stressed hard personal backgrounds. Jackson grew up in Atlanta public housing and foster care and did not attend college. Bottoms' father, soul singer Major Lance, struggled with addiction and went to prison. Caldwell holds up Jackson's upbringing as giving him lived experience that Bottoms lacks. 1 2 Mixed · 2On policy, Jackson says he would cut state income taxes and bring in jobs. Caldwell highlights his public safety plan, which includes more certified crime labs, a statewide law enforcement division to fight child sex trafficking, and tax relief for law enforcement officers and veterans. Bottoms is campaigning on lowering living costs, including by expanding Medicaid. 1 2

Centre · 1Former President Barack Obama rallied in Atlanta on Wednesday night and praised Bottoms. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and actor Kerry Washington have also campaigned for Democrats. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is sending her campaign $1 million. Early-voting turnout has set records for a Georgia midterm. Early data show moderate turnout in many traditionally Republican areas and higher turnout in Democratic-leaning counties. 1 Centre · 1Jackson still faces friction from a tough Republican primary against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had Trump's endorsement, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Jackson won the runoff this summer, but he and Jones traded corruption accusations. Jackson praised the popular Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited, at a Trump rally in Dalton. 1