Bottoms on Morning Joe: ‘We’re Going to Take our Case Directly to the People’
ATLANTA — As the general election officially kicked off this week, Democratic candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms continued her focus on bringing down costs, expanding Medicaid and affordable health care, and investing in Georgians’ education. She also highlighted the contrast between her vision for Georgia and Republican nominee Rick Jackson.
Listen to Bottoms discuss how health care costs are impacting Georgians:
WSB Radio’s Shelley Wynter Show: “Medicaid expansion is desperately needed in this state. We’ve had nine rural hospitals to close. We are one of just under a dozen states that have not expanded Medicaid. Since the beginning of the year, with the Big Ugly Bill 500,000 people have opted not to have health care insurance,” Bottoms said. “Small business owners are talking about how their premiums have tripled. Affordability has to be addressed in the state, and a huge part of that relates to our health care costs.” [The Shelley Wynter Show, WSB Radio, 6/16/2026]
Watch Bottoms share the clear contrast over health care between her and Republican nominee Rick Jackson:
MS Now’s Morning Joe: “[Rick Jackson] is a guy who said that if he wins he will be Donald Trump’s favorite governor […] The people of this state are concerned about health care costs. 500,000 people in this state have chosen not to get health care since the Big Ugly Bill because of rising costs. So, he doesn’t even want to expand Medicaid. This is a guy who again has made millions upon millions off the backs of the people of Georgia and doesn’t even want to expand Medicaid in this state.”
Bottoms continued, “We’re going to take our case directly to the people, keep talking about those issues they care about: cost of living, affordable housing, Medicaid expansion, access to health care in general in this state, making sure all of our kids have access to Pre-K, creating a pathway for free technical and community college, supporting small businesses. Those are the issues we’re going to talk about.” [Morning Joe, 6/17/2026]
MS NOW’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell: “Everywhere I go it’s the cost of living. Everybody is talking about the cost of living,” Bottoms said. “And Georgia, since the beginning of the year, 500,000 people have opted not to have health care because costs have gone up. Small business owners are complaining about how their premiums have almost tripled since the beginning of the year. Add on top of that the cost of gas, groceries, the cost of housing, whether I’m in a rural community or in an urban city, everybody is talking about it.” [The Last Word, 6/18/2026]
Atlanta’s 11Alive: “This race is about the future. This race is about delivering for the people of Georgia in the midst of all the chaos that’s coming from Washington, DC, the chaos that’s coming from Donald Trump. Rick Jackson is saying that he didn’t take exception to a single policy coming out of this Trump White House,” said Bottoms. “[Jackson] certainly made millions of dollars, one billion in fact, since 2020 from the state of Georgia. I don’t know how much more of an insider you can be than making your fortune off the backs of the people of this state […] What the people of Georgia are saying is, ‘We want Medicaid expanded.’ But [Jackson] is saying, ‘I’m not going to expand Medicaid,’ although he’s made more than a billion dollars from health care in this state.” [11Alive, 6/17/2026]
