¶ How To Win Against Rick Jackson
Georgia Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson repeatedly campaigned on being like Trump with a "Southern tone" and promised to be Trump's favorite governor. The Trump-endorsed Jackson stated that he did not disagree with a “single White House policy,” showing support for all of Trump’s policies that Georgians suffered under. Jackson even promised to run the State of Georgia the same way Trump ran the federal government. Jackson voiced his fervent support for Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” even thouogh it was expected to strip health care away from hundreds of thousands of Georgians. Jackson opposed Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act, which both faced devastating cuts under the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Jackson supported the SNAP cuts in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and emphasized his biblical philosophy that “if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Jackson supported Trump's war in Iran and celebrated how Trump's tariffs and tax cuts grew his wealth, while the tariffs harmed Georgia's key industries and drove costs up for Georgia families. Jackson said he liked DOGE even as Trump's DOGE threatened the jobs of federal workers and cut essential services across Georgia. Jackson suggested Governor Kemp would deploy the National Guard to "watch" the November 2026 elections and he repeatedly undermined the 2020 election results. Jackson agreed rape victims should prove they were raped to qualify for an abortion exception and said he “wouldn’t change a thing” about Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. Despite running as an immigration hardliner, one of Jackson’s healthcare companies was accused of trafficking foreign nurses. While Jackson ran on bringing "business solutions," it was revealed one of his healthcare companies agreed to a $2 million settlement after allegedly violating labor laws and failing to pay overtime wages. Jackson also amassed a large fortune from his several businesses and used that fortune to donate to Georgia Republicans and influenced policies that would further enrich himself and his businesses. While Jackson promotes himself as a selfless philanthropist and gubernatorial candidate running to help Georgians, he faced backlash for using his wealth and power to do the opposite. Jackson sued to prevent apartment development near his mega-mansion and belittled renters. He faced backlash from Texas residents over his company's data center development in Bowie County, Texas. Rick Jackson is an out of touch billionaire who was using his wealth to sway the Georgia gubernatorial election. He donated $1 million to MAGA Inc. and courted Trump’s support for his gubernatorial bid as he benefitted from Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs. After securing the Republican nomination, Jackson opened a leadership committee to raise unlimited donations despite challenging leadership committees in court and spending more than $100 million of his own wealth to defeat his primary opponents.
¶ Rick Jackson Opposed Medicaid Expansion And Supported Trump’s Health Care Cuts
- In 2026, Rick Jackson's campaign said he supported Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill” and called “many parts” of the bill “great,” even though 17 million Americans, including nearly 12 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, were at risk of losing their health insurance under the bill. Jackson also celebrated benefitting from Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill's” tax cuts, claiming the tax cuts prevented him from “paying 40% more in taxes right now.” He also said he did not disagree with a “single White House policy.” More than 624,000 Georgians, including more than 93,400 Medicaid recipients, were expected to lose their health insurance coverage by 2034 due to Trump’s tax bill.
- In 2026, Jackson said he opposed the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion, implying the need to expand Medicaid was overstated. Jackson even said Georgia's refusal to expand Medicaid was not “as bad anybody else thinks” and lamented that with Medicaid “everybody gets healthcare.” Jackson supported work requirements for public assistance programs, claiming public assistance was “trapping people into dependency.” In 2013, Rick Jackson’s healthcare company sponsored a survey that claimed 59 percent of doctors opposed the Affordable Care Act, and Jackson said, “the more physicians learn about the ACA, the more they dislike it and want to start over.” In 2009, Jackson criticized Obama’s efforts to pass the Affordable Care Act, saying the reforms were intended “to reduce government spending,” not reward “quality and efficiency.” In 2026, more than 1.3 million Georgians were enrolled in Affordable Care Act Marketplace health insurance plans.
- In September 2026, Jackson announced his healthcare plan in which he proposed using enhanced Medicaid funding to “close the coverage gap.” However, Jackson's plan lacked details and it was unclear how he would secure the funding. Jackson claimed he would pursue a waiver to replace Georgia's Pathways Program even though Governor Kemp's attempt to secure the same funding previously failed.
Message: Rick Jackson supported stripping away health care from hundreds of thousands of Georgians.
¶ Rick Jackson Supported Stripping SNAP Benefits From Georgia Families
- In 2026, Rick Jackson's campaign said he supported Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill”, calling “many parts” of the bill “great,” and he said he did not disagree with a “single White House policy.” Rick Jackson also quoted the Bible to justify his support for work requirements for public assistance programs like SNAP, saying, “if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” made the largest SNAP cut in history as more than 456,000 households in Georgia relied on SNAP to afford groceries.
Message: Rick Jackson supported making food more expensive for Georgia families.
¶ Rick Jackson Celebrated How Trump's Tariffs Grew His Wealth And Supported Trump's War In Iran Even As It Increased Costs For Georgians
- In 2026, Rick Jackson praised Trump's tariffs and his business decisions, touting that Trump inspired Jackson to run for governor. Jackson refused to criticize tariffs, claiming he was “not going to be blaming the federal government for everything.” Jackson even touted how Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts were growing his wealth. Jackson said he bought stocks when the stock market crashed in April 2025 due to Trump’s tariffs and celebrated making a “80% return in four weeks.” Trump’s tariffs were dooming Georgia’s ranking as 7th in the nation for net exports and harming the state’s key industries of agriculture, automotive manufacturing, construction, and port logistics. Additionally, two-thirds of Georgians believed the tariffs would cause their everyday costs to increase.
- In 2026, Jackson called on Americans to “trust” Trump and said he “completely” supported Trump’s war in Iran. In September 2026, Jackson claimed the political environment “has never been worse” due to increases in gas prices and interest rates, failing to mention he supported Trump’s war in Iran, which led to increased costs in Georgia. As Georgia farmers faced high fuel prices due to the Iran war and higher costs due to Trump's tariffs, Jackson argued he “can't control what the federal government does” and claimed “things happen to us, whether it's tariffs, wars, all these thing that are happening, that we don't have control over.” Jackson backed Governor Kemp's decision to suspend the gas tax as the Iran war drove costs up. Trump's war of choice with Iran drove up Georgians' gas prices and squeezed Georgia farmers. Fertilizer costs soared and Georgians braced for higher utility bills as the war prolonged. The Iran war disrupted shipping at Georgia ports and slammed Georgia exporters with uncertainty and increased insurance costs. The war also led to Georgia airlines raising their baggage fees and experts warned of reverberating price shocks from increased jet fuel prices.
Message: While Trump's tariffs harmed Georgia's key industries and Trump’s war in Iran drove costs up for Georgians, Rick Jackson celebrated how the tariffs grew his wealth and said he “completely” supported Trump’s war in Iran.
¶ Rick Jackson Won’t Protect Georgia’s Critical Services, Jobs, Or Nonprofits From DOGE
- In 2026, Rick Jackson claimed he liked DOGE for evaluating government efficiency when asked what government services he would cut to fund his tax cut proposals. He also said he would “not apologize” for liking DOGE initiatives and proposed his own version in which he would evaluate every state department. Jackson’s praise of DOGE came after Trump’s DOGE canceled grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars for public health, nonprofits, universities, and critical services across Georgia. Trump’s DOGE also threatened the livelihoods of 115,600 federal workers in Georgia, fired more than 2,300 Atlanta-based CDC employees, and closed five Georgia Social Security offices in 2025.
Message: Rick Jackson backed DOGE even as Georgians lost their jobs and critical services were cut.
¶ Rick Jackson Was An Anti-Abortion Extremist
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In leaked audio, Rick Jackson appeared to agree women should have to prove they were actually raped before being allowed an abortion exception. When talking about abortion exceptions in cases of rape, agreed with a community member that “two wrongs don’t make a right” and said “you still got life, it’s still a life.” Jackson’s campaign underscored his support for rape and incest victims to file a police report before being allowed an abortion exception. Critics argued Jackson's agreement that rape victims should prove they were assaulted reflected a broader skepticism towards women reporting sexual violence.
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In leaked audio, Jackson also called to “tighten up” abortion pills, which accounted for more than 80 percent of abortions in Georgia. In May 2026, Georgia advocates urged the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve access to the abortion pill, warning restrictions would lead to unnecessary delays and increase risks for complications, after the court temporarily restored access to the medication.
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In leaked audio, Jackson also said he would be open to criminalizing doctors who “fudge” records to perform abortions outside Georgia’s six-week ban, calling for doctors to “prove that the pregnancy was the right number of weeks” because “doctors are not going to risk their licenses.” Due to Georgia’s extreme abortion ban, some doctors warned it was hard to perform abortions for patients experiencing medical emergencies without risking penalties. Experts also warned the abortion ban caused delays in abortion care in Georgia and caused a woman to die, which could have been preventable.
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Jackson called himself “entirely pro life,” and said he “wouldn’t change a thing” about Georgia’s abortion law, which banned abortions “when cardiac activity is detected, […] at approximately six weeks of pregnancy.” Jackson even took credit for Georgia's extreme abortion restrictions and said he would “absolutely” back an even stricter ban in Georgia.
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Jackson also boasted donating to anti-abortion organizations and anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in Georgia.
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When Jackson’s opponent, Burt Jones, claimed Jackson’s business supported Planned Parenthood, Jackson said it was an “absurd lie,” and called Jones a “desperate trust fund baby.”
Message: Rick Jackson threatened the reproductive freedoms of Georgians.
¶ Rick Jackson Said Governor Kemp Would Deploy The National Guard To "Watch" The 2026 Election And Repeatedly Undermined The 2020 Election
- In an unearthed audio from Jackson's Columbus rally in August 2026, Jackson told an attendee he feared Democrats would “cheat” during the November election and said Governor Kemp would deploy the National Guard to “watch” the election he was trying to win. Jackson's comments came amid concerns Trump could use the military to interfere with elections across the country.
- Rick Jackson repeatedly pushed election denialism and undermined the results of the 2020 election. He called the 2020 election “totally ridiculous” and “terrible,” and attacked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as “Judas” for not overturning the 2020 election. Jackson also accused Fulton County of “cheating on voting” for the last 40 years and trying to “keep the truth in dark” after a federal subpoena sought personal data of election workers and volunteers during the 2020 election.
Message: Rick Jackson said Kemp would launch the National Guard to "watch" the election he was trying to win even as he repeatedly undermined the 2020 election results.
¶ Rick Jackson Ran As An Immigration Hardliner While His Company Settled A Lawsuit For Allegedly Trafficking Foreign Nurses
- Despite running as an immigration hardliner and calling for immigrants to be “deported or departed,” Rick Jackson’s healthcare company, Avant Healthcare Professionals, agreed to a $3 million settlement with current and former foreign workers for allegedly trafficking foreign nurses. Since 2023, Avant faced a lawsuit from hired foreign nurses for allegedly violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, claiming the company threatened to report foreign nurses to U.S. immigration officials if they quit or breached their contracts. The foreign nurses argued working for Avant was “essentially indentured servitude” and claimed the suit was about labor trafficking and its impact on the workforce.
Message: Rick Jackson promoted an anti-immigrant platform while his company was sued for allegedly trafficking foreign workers.
¶ Rick Jackson Donated To Georgia Republicans That Helped Benefit His Businesses
- Since 2020, Rick Jackson's healthcare company received more than $1 billion from Georgia's government agencies. Jackson also reported more than $930 million in state-linked transactions since 2021. In July 2026, Jackson signed a new state contract worth millions for his company Locum Tenens to provide services through mid-2027 despite Jackson's pledge to “unwind” his state contracts if elected governor.
- Jackson claimed he “never asked” for any favors that would benefit his companies in Georgia despite donating to Georgia Republicans as his company was awarded a no-bid contract. In 2020, Jackson Healthcare was awarded a no-bid agreement with the State of Georgia under Governor Brian Kemp to provide extra health care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was paid more than $694 million from 2020 to 2022. At the time, Rick Jackson and his family were well-established Republican donors, and had contributed $6,600 to Kemp’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Georgia Ethics Watchdog argued that the no-bid agreement “reeks of a payoff to a major donor” and “erodes public trust in governance.”
- In 2013, Jackson advocated for legislation to privatize child welfare services, which stood to benefit FaithBridge, the foster care program Jackson was the chairman of, while fundraising for Governor Nathan Deal and Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. Jackson hosted fundraisers for and donated more than $50,000 each to both Deal and Cagle. Jackson later had a meeting with Deal in the same month as his fundraiser to discuss his proposal, and testified before Cagle’s Senate working group on foster care on the same day as his fundraiser.
Message: Rick Jackson used his wealth and power to further enrich himself and his businesses.
¶ Despite Running As A Philanthropist Who Cared About Local Communities, Rick Jackson Used His Power And Wealth To Put Himself First
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While Rick Jackson promotes himself as a selfless philanthropist and gubernatorial candidate running to help Georgians, he faced backlash for using his wealth and power to do the opposite.
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Despite pitching himself as a philanthropist who would address rent and housing costs, Jackson bashed Georgians living in apartments and voiced a fear of children, all while boasting about his mega-mansion in a 2013 deposition. In 2012, Jackson sued the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners over zoning approval of apartments near his property. In his 2013 deposition, Jackson belittled people who lived in apartments, including children, and boasted about having the “nicest home in Georgia” and a lavish home in areas where people could not afford several acres of land. Jackson boasted having a dog “agility center” in his mega-mansion, which would have the closest proximity to the apartment complex. Jackson said having apartments adjacent to his mansion would be a "complete total disgrace and disrespect,” claimed "people that rent are not as responsible as people that own," and said the “type of people” that lived in apartments would affect the value of his mansion’s property and would increase security concerns for him. Jackson admitted to believing the stereotype that renters bring in “bigger security issue[s].” He said apartment children increased his security concerns, believing they would find a way to sneak into his property. Jackson complained that he needed to install a $500,000 security upgrade to prevent any potential crime associated with renters moving in near his property.
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Despite campaigning on housing affordability and business solutions, Jackson's JIG Real Estate spent more than four years trying to take a Georgia couple's home in a legal battle that led to a cascade of health problems and tragedy for the couple. Starting in 2007, Jackson's company bought Tammi and James Garland's home in a foreclosure sale that was not supposed to take place. JIG Real Estate refused to rescind the home and sued the lender and the Garlands to keep the house. Court records described a JIG Real Estate representative allegedly threatening to “kick the hell” out of the couple if they did not leave the house. Ultimately, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled against JIG Real Estate, confirming the foreclosure sale had been properly rescinded despite the company's claim it had been entitled to the property. Court filings showed the legal dispute led to Tammi Garland suffering a seizure during the confrontation and James Garland suffering from a “major heart attack.” Tammi Garland ultimately died in 2008 while James Garland attempted suicide a few months after the legal dispute and ultimately died in 2012.
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Jackson also touted the investment in a Texas data center and promoted the need for local input over data center development, yet faced backlash from Bowie County, Texas residents over his company’s development of a massive hyperscale data center campus. No Bowie Data Centers organized against the data center project linked to Jackson’s company and questioned his pledge for local input due to a confidentiality agreement between Bowie County Commissioners and Jackson’s company over the land sale.
Message: Rick Jackson was the opposite of who he said he was, instead using his power and wealth to enrich himself and belittle the people he claimed to support.
¶ RICK JACKSON COURTED TRUMP’S SUPPORT AFTER HE BENEFITTED FROM TRUMP’S TAX CUTS AND DONATED TO MAGA INC.
- Rick Jackson seemingly became an ardent Trump supporter and courted Trump’s approval for his gubernatorial campaign after Jackson benefitted from Trump’s devastating tax cuts and tariff policies. Jackson even claimed Trump inspired him to run for governor and pledged to run the State of Georgia like Trump ran the federal government.
- Even though Rick Jackson donated to Nikki Haley’s and Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaigns in 2024, Jackson claimed “nobody supports [Trump] more than I do now” as he campaigned for governor. Rick Jackson even celebrated how Trump’s tariff policies and the tax cuts from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” grew his wealth. Eight weeks before launching his gubernatorial bid, Rick Jackson donated $1 million to MAGA Inc., which Republican operatives claimed could have been an attempt to sway Trump on his endorsement of Burt Jones for Georgia governor.
- Trump quickly endorsed Jackson after he won the runoff election against Jones and donated an additional $1 million to Trump's campaign a few days before the runoff.
- Rick Jackson’s primary opponents repeatedly scrutinized Rick Jackson for using his wealth to influence the gubernatorial election. While Jackson sued Burt Jones over defamation and his leadership committee, Jones cast Jackson as an “out of touch billionaire” and "snake oil salesman" who was selling “bullshit” and using his money to “portray something that he’s not.” Jones also accused “Slick Rick” of being a “Never Trumper” who donated to Jeb Bush and Liz Cheney. In September 2026, Jackson dropped his two lawsuits against Jones as he reportedly sought to make amends with Jones. Chris Carr blasted Rick Jackson for being one of the “really rich guys that are trying to buy the race” and scrutinized self-funders like Jackson who ran for office in Georgia.
- Republicans called Jackson a “fraud” and a liar who “will say what he needs in order to win” after Jackson claimed he did not know whether he hired undocumented workers despite his deposition showing he admitted new hires were not vetted.
Message: Rick Jackson is an out of touch billionaire who donated $1 million to MAGA Inc. and courted Trump’s support for his gubernatorial bid as he benefitted from Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs.
¶ Rick Jackson Hypocritically Opened A Leadership Committee To Raise Unlimited Donations After Challenging Them In Court
- Despite challenging leadership committees in court as unconstitutional and unfair, Rick Jackson opened a leadership committee so he could raise unlimited contributions after securing the Republican nomination for Georgia governor. Jackson opened his leadership committee after celebrating a federal appeals court ruling affirming that Georgia’s law allowing Jones and incumbents to raise unlimited funds with leadership committees was likely unconstitutional. In September 2026, Jackson dropped the suit against Jones challenging leadership committees as Jackson reportedly sought to make amends with Jones. Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own wealth to defeat Jones in the primary despite attacking Jones for “abusing” his leadership committee.
Message: Rick Jackson hypocritically opened a leadership committee to raise unlimited donations despite challenging leadership committees in court and spending more than $100 million of his own wealth to secure the GOP nomination.
¶ Rick Jackson’s Companies Agreed To Multi-Million-Dollar Settlements For Allegedly Breaching Labor Laws, Failing To Pay Overtime, And Exploting Workers
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Rick Jackson faced scrutiny for his companies’ multi–million-dollar payments to settle claims they exploited workers and breached labor laws despite Jackson’s campaign promise to create jobs and bring “business solutions to Georgia just like President Trump.”
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In 2022, Jackson Nurse Professionals agreed to a nearly $2 million payout after being accused of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act. In a federal suit filed in 2017, nursing employees accused Jackson Nurse Professionals of failing to pay overtime wages and wages owed at the time of employment termination. The company allegedly also unlawfully collected wages from employees who did not work the minimum hours required under their contracts.
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In 2026, Jackson’s healthcare company, Avant Healthcare Professionals, agreed to a $3 million settlement with current and former foreign workers for allegedly trafficking foreign nurses. Since 2023, Avant faced a lawsuit from hired foreign nurses for allegedly violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, claiming the company threatened to report foreign nurses to U.S. immigration officials if they quit or breached their contracts. The foreign nurses argued working for Avant was “essentially indentured servitude” and claimed the suit was about labor trafficking and its impact on the workforce.
Message: Rick Jackson wants to bring “business solutions to Georgia” despite his companies agreeing to multi-million-dollar settlements for exploiting workers and failing to pay overtime wages.
¶ Issue Back-Ups
¶ Rick Jackson Supported Policies That Have Hurt Everyday People And Benefitted The Powerful
| Rick Jackson Opposed Medicaid Expansion And Supported Trump’s Devastating Health Care Cuts
| Rick Jackson Supported Stripping SNAP Benefits From Georgia Families
| Rick Jackson Celebrated How Trump's Tariffs Grew His Wealth And Supported Trump's War In Iran Even As It Increased Costs For Georgians
| Rick Jackson Won’t Protect Georgia’s Critical Services, Jobs, Or Nonprofits From DOGE
| Rick Jackson Was An Anti-Abortion Extremist
| Rick Jackson Said Governor Kemp Would Deploy The National Guard To "Watch" The 2026 Election And Repeatedly Undermined The 2020 Election
| Rick Jackson Ran As An Immigration Hardliner While His Company Settled A Lawsuit For Allegedly Trafficking Foreign Nurses
¶ Rick Jackson Used His Wealth To Make Himself More Powerful
| Rick Jackson Donated To Georgia Republicans That Helped Benefit His Businesses
| Despite Running As A Philanthropist Who Cared About Local Communities, Rick Jackson Used His Power And Wealth To Put Himself First
| Billionaire Rick Jackson Courted Trump’s Support After He Benefitted From Trump’s Tax Cuts And Donated To MAGA Inc.
| Rick Jackson Hypocritically Opened A Leadership Committee To Raise Unlimited Donations After Challenging Them In Court
| Rick Jackson’s Companies Agreed To Multi-Million-Dollar Settlements For Allegedly Breaching Labor Laws, Failing To Pay Overtime, And Exploiting Workers