Can Keisha Lance Bottoms withstand Rick Jackson’s spending blitz in Georgia?
The Republican billionaire is pouring unprecedented sums into the governor’s race. Bottoms is looking for other ways to break through.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor, held a news conference in Marietta calling for Republican nominee Rick Jackson to divest from data center investments on Sept. 14, 2026. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
Republican Rick Jackson’s financial advantage has loomed over Georgia’s race for governor since his surprise entry in February. But this week, Democrats got a sobering reminder of just how lopsided it is.
An AdImpact analysis shows pro-Jackson groups have spent or reserved nearly $76 million in airtime ahead of the general election, compared with about $8 million for Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and her allies. Her campaign itself has just $42,000 reserved for traditional TV ads.
Those figures don’t capture the full scope of Bottoms’ spending, nor do they reflect a six-figure statewide ad buy the campaign launched early Thursday.
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Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for governor of Georgia, seen here at a news conference in Atlanta earlier this month. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, left, and then Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, seen here in a televised debate in Atlanta in 2022. (Ben Gray/AP)
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Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, seen here at a rally in Athens on Sunday. (Felix Scheyer for the AJC)
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Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
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