Rick Jackson

Running for Governor in Georgia

Downloadable Report Card

is Attacking Health Care for Georgians
Wants to Take Food from Georgia Families
Has an Extreme Anti-Abortion Record
Calls the Pursuit of Equal Outcomes 'Communism'
Won't Draw a Line on ICE Raids at Schools and Churches
Is Buying the Governor's Office With His Own Money
Used Government Contracts to Enrich Himself
His Company Was Sued by the IRS Over $72 Million in Underreported Income
Can't Name a Single Trump Policy He Disagrees With
Tried to Buy Trump's Endorsement
Brags That Trump's Tariffs Made Him Richer
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is Attacking Health Care for Georgians

Every Georgian deserves access to quality, affordable health care. Rick Jackson built his fortune in healthcare — and has spent his campaign attacking access to it for others.

At a Thomasville campaign event, Jackson told voters he thought there were "many parts" of Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" that were "great" — adding that if it hadn't passed, "I'd be paying 40% more in taxes right now." The law passed the House 218 to 214 . The Senate version was projected to strip insurance from at least 17 million Americans; Democratic staff on the Joint Economic Committee, in a September 2025 tally, put Georgia's own losses at 566,000 people by 2034, 38,300 of them on Medicaid.
Jackson's campaign says he "has long opposed Obamacare," and Jackson says he first met Newt Gingrich "when we were fighting against Obamacare." He also opposes Medicaid expansion and defends work requirements for public assistance, saying "the real cruelty is trapping people in dependency and calling it compassion." More than 1.3 million Georgians signed up for ACA marketplace coverage for 2026.

Rick Jackson supports stripping away health care from hundreds of thousands of Georgians. We deserve better.

Wants to Take Food from Georgia Families

More than 456,000 Georgia households rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families. Rick Jackson supported cutting that help — and quoted scripture to justify it.

Jackson backed Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which cut federal SNAP funding by $187 billion through 2034 — about 20 percent, the largest cut to SNAP in history. In Georgia, 456,340 households receive SNAP.
Jackson defended the bill's work requirements by telling constituents that "the worst thing that we can do is … get people relying on government where they have no incentive to work," calling it "the most dehumanizing thing that you can do."
He put it in scripture, posting: "Work is a blessing, not a curse. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 — 'If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.'"

Rick Jackson supported making food more expensive for Georgia families. We deserve better.

Has an Extreme Anti-Abortion Record

Georgia voters have faced devastating consequences from the state's six-week abortion ban. Rick Jackson called himself "entirely pro life" and said he "wouldn't change a thing."

Rick Jackson told the AJC: "I'm entirely pro life. I support the bill we have here. As governor, I wouldn't change a thing, one way or the other." Georgia's law bans abortion "when cardiac activity is detected, which is at approximately six weeks of pregnancy and before many people know they are pregnant."
At a March 21 meet-and-greet in Martinez, Jackson took credit for the ban — "I think we've made really good progress on this issue with the 6-weeks. I'm real pleased that I was a part of that behind the scenes" — and, asked whether he would support a total abortion ban, said: "What we have in place, I'm not going to change it. If anybody wants to do that, I would absolutely confirm it."
Leaked audio from an April campaign stop in east Georgia, obtained by the AJC and HuffPost, caught Jackson going further. When a woman said she wanted to see "babies born no matter how they were conceived" — referring to rape — Jackson replied, "You still got life, it's still a life." He then agreed with her that a woman who says she was raped "needs to prove it" to qualify for an exception, and agreed that "two wrongs don't make a right."
In the same conversation he called for tightening access to abortion pills — which account for more than 80% of abortions in Georgia — and said he was open to criminalizing doctors, telling the attendee: "Well, you basically make it against the law, No. 1. No. 2, they have to have evidence to prove in order to not have liability themselves." His campaign called the coverage "an incorrect framing based on 'Democratic spin,'" saying he "strongly supports Georgia's current Heartbeat law and will defend it as governor."
Georgia's rape exception already requires filing an official police report — but roughly two out of three sexual assault survivors never report to law enforcement, and 98% of perpetrators walk free. Requiring victims to "prove it" would put the exception further out of reach.
Jackson has boasted about his giving to the anti-abortion movement, saying he has "given more to nonprofits and crisis pregnancy centers here in Georgia than probably you've given in your entire life" — a jab at primary rival Burt Jones.

Rick Jackson threatened the reproductive freedoms of Georgians. We deserve better.

Calls the Pursuit of Equal Outcomes 'Communism'

Georgia is one of the most diverse states in the country. Rick Jackson has made clear what he thinks about efforts to level the playing field.

In a 2026 WSB-TV interview, Jackson said: "I believe in diversity and inclusion. I don't believe in equity. I don't believe in equal outcomes, period" — and went on to characterize the pursuit of equal outcomes as "communism." Asked about his hiring philosophy, he said it was "the same as the NBA's, the best people hit the court."

Georgians deserve a governor who works for a fair shot for everyone. We deserve better.

Billionaire Rick Jackson details plan for Georgia if he's elected governor (WSB-TV)

Won't Draw a Line on ICE Raids at Schools and Churches

Georgia families should be able to send their kids to school and go to worship without fear of an immigration raid. Asked directly whether he would draw that line as governor, Rick Jackson refused.

Asked by WSB-TV about immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like schools or churches, Jackson declined to take a position: "I'm not going to encourage or discourage anything. I'm going to support whatever they want to do."
In the same March 2026 interview, Jackson acknowledged the limits of the office — "I don't have the legal authority to deport somebody" — before adding, "We need to get rid of all criminals, but especially criminal illegal immigrants."
He has campaigned on it, too: the Associated Press reported that Jackson has aired "hard-edged ads pledging to cut taxes, deport immigrants and block gender-affirming care to minors."

A governor who won't say whether ICE should raid a school or a church has already given his answer. We deserve better.

Is Buying the Governor's Office With His Own Money

Our elected officials should work for us, the people.

Rick Jackson is not funded by billionaires. He is the billionaire, and he is buying this office himself. Of the $73,526,815 his campaign had reported through April, $73,246,433 - 99.6% of it - came from Rick Jackson. Every other donor in the state of Georgia, combined, accounted for about $280,000.

And that was only the beginning. In July he added another $87 million in television advertising - the largest general election buy of the race - on top of the $100 million-plus he had already spent. One man is spending close to $200 million of his own fortune to talk Georgians into making him governor.

His pitch is that being this rich makes him incorruptible - no donors, no strings. His own Republican primary opponent put it differently in an ad: "Rick Jackson is everywhere spending over $100 million trying to buy our vote. But Georgia is not for sale." And his Democratic opponent, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, added the part that matters: "If you can be bought, you can be sold."

Because the question with a self-funding candidate is not who owns him. It is what he plans to do with the office once he has paid for it:

Rick Jackson - $73,246,433. His own money, making up 99.6% of everything his campaign raised through April.
$87,000,000 more in television ads, announced in late July - the biggest general election buy in the race - on top of an estimated $100 million-plus already spent.
Everyone else in Georgia combined: about $280,000. His largest actual donors, Thomas L. Bradbury and James S. McLane, gave $26,400 each. His top ten donors together gave $130,000 - two tenths of one percent of what he has raised.
He owns part of a data center. He wants data centers to pay no property taxes. At the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's luncheon in August he told more than a thousand business leaders that counties should be able to host data centers with no property tax bill at all - while personally invested in a data center in Texas.
At that same luncheon he ruled out expanding Medicaid, in a state where Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee project 624,000 Georgians will lose health coverage by 2034. He made his fortune in health care staffing.
He has spent money on politicians before, and said so out loud. He sent $1 million to Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC eight weeks before launching his campaign, then advertised the fact. Trump endorsed his opponent anyway - and after switching to Jackson in July, volunteered to a reporter that Jackson had given him "a couple of" million dollars. See Tried to Buy Trump's Endorsement below.

And the fortune he is spending was built on Georgia's own government. His companies have been paid nearly $1 billion by state agencies since 2020, including a roughly $709 million no-bid contract - see Used Government Contracts to Enrich Himself below.

Rick Jackson is buying the governor's office with money Georgia taxpayers helped him make. We deserve better.

Used Government Contracts to Enrich Himself

Rick Jackson built his fortune through his healthcare company's government contracts — and donated to the politicians who awarded them.

Rick Jackson's companies have been paid nearly $1 billion by Georgia state agencies since fiscal 2020 — including about $709 million in federal pandemic funds from the Department of Community Health for health care staffing. That agreement was described as a sole-source contract, and the bidding opportunity is not listed in the Georgia Procurement Registry, the state's database of contracting opportunities.
The no-bid arrangement was possible because Gov. Brian Kemp's emergency declaration allowed state agencies to sign deals without the traditional bidding process. The AJC reported the deal "raised some eyebrows at the Capitol" because Jackson and his family "have been major campaign contributors to Republicans over the years" — including $51,000 to Casey Cagle, the candidate they backed against Kemp in the 2018 Republican runoff, and $6,600 to Kemp after he won it.
Now running for the office that oversees those agencies, Jackson has promised to "unwind" his company's state contracts if elected.

Rick Jackson is an out-of-touch billionaire who used Georgia government contracts to enrich himself. We deserve better.

His Company Was Sued by the IRS Over $72 Million in Underreported Income

While ordinary Georgians pay their taxes every year, the IRS says Rick Jackson's company didn't.

In June 2024, the IRS told the U.S. Tax Court that Jackson Investment Group — Rick Jackson's company — underreported $72 million in taxable income for 2019 and owes $38 million: $30 million in tax underpayments plus $8.43 million in penalties. The agency reached that determination after disallowing expenses the company claimed related to several philanthropic ventures, including film rights and real estate. The company says it followed the rules and relied on independent appraisals.

We deserve a governor who plays by the same tax rules as the rest of us. We deserve better.

Atlanta business's film, real estate deductions draw IRS lawsuit (Bloomberg Tax)

Can't Name a Single Trump Policy He Disagrees With

Rick Jackson has tied himself completely to Donald Trump — even when Trump's agenda hurts the very Georgians he wants to govern.

Jackson said he can't name a single White House policy he disagreed with, and reportedly modeled his campaign launch on Trump — right down to a celebratory elevator descent.
Yet Jackson's own physician search firm, Jackson Physician Search, warned in a February white paper of "considerable fear and uncertainty" from the One Big Beautiful Bill — noting the law "is projected to cause between 10 and 15 million people to lose health coverage" and that "Medicare and Medicaid cuts are creating significant financial pressure across healthcare organizations." The same materials warned it would likely force rural hospitals to close and worsen the doctor shortage.

Rick Jackson backs Trump's agenda no matter who it hurts — even when his own company admits the damage. We deserve better.

GOP governor hopeful can't name a Trump policy he opposes. His company can list many (Fox News)

Tried to Buy Trump's Endorsement

Rick Jackson has spent his fortune trying to buy his way into the governor's office.

Jackson had bankrolled two of Trump's 2024 primary rivals, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Then, on Dec. 10 — eight weeks before launching his campaign — he sent $1 million to the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC, his first-ever contribution to Trump or his allied PAC. He then advertised it, declaring in his campaign announcement video: "I donated a million bucks to Trump, because Trump's success inspired me" to run.
His Republican rival Burt Jones was blunt about it: "Anyone spending close to $200 million dollars trying to buy this election who won't get up on the debate stage before folks head to the polls makes me wonder — candidate for governor or snake oil salesman?"
The $1 million did not buy the endorsement: Trump backed Jones instead, and Jackson beat him in the runoff anyway, 52.6% to 47.4%. Having lost his pick, Trump fell in line — bringing Jackson on stage at a Cobb County rally on July 22, 2026, calling him "a true champion for the people," and posting a formal endorsement the next day.

Rick Jackson tried to buy Trump's endorsement and the governor's office. We deserve better.

Brags That Trump's Tariffs Made Him Richer

Trump's tariffs are crushing Georgia's businesses and raising grocery prices. Rick Jackson praised them — and bragged they boosted his own wealth.

Jackson has praised Trump's tariffs, saying in March: "I believe in fairness. Don't want somebody to take advantage of us in a business transaction. That's what he's trying to do. So I support."
At the same Thomasville event, Jackson boasted about what the tariffs did for his own portfolio: "The stock market went down last April when Trump announced [tariffs]. I went and bought options on the day that happened because I knew that was crazy and made an 80% return in four weeks." That was the week the Dow plunged more than 2,200 points in the worst market selloff in five years.
Ordinary Georgians did not come out ahead. A Morning Consult survey found 2 in 3 Georgians were worried tariffs could drive up prices on everyday items, and only a quarter wanted the tariffs made permanent. Georgia set records in 2024 with $53.1 billion in exports and $145.6 billion in imports, leaving the state — by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's own assessment — especially vulnerable to the fallout.

While Trump's tariffs harmed Georgia's key industries and drove costs up for Georgians, Rick Jackson bragged they made him richer. We deserve better.

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