Today, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she plans to participate in three televised debates during the general election, and challenged Republican nominee Rick Jackson to join her.
Keisha called for three debates across different regions of Georgia, televised, and taking place at least two weeks before Election Day on November 3. She also called for at least one of the debates to incorporate a town hall format to answer questions directly from Georgians.
Keisha has already accepted the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young debate on October 12, and will consider other debate invitations. The campaign will prioritize those that take place in other regions of the state.
Three debates would be the largest number of general election gubernatorial debates in more than a decade.
“Georgians deserve to hear directly from their candidates for governor,” said Keisha. “I look forward to continuing to share my vision for Georgia on the debate stage, and I call on Rick Jackson to join me. There’s a clear choice for Georgians in this race: I’ll fight for Georgians to lower costs and build a brighter future, while Rick Jackson will only fight to line his own pockets. Let’s debate!”
BACKGROUND
Earlier this year, Keisha released her CARE Plan for a Healthier Georgia which will expand Medicaid, protect rural hospitals, and prevent Georgians who rely on the ACA from losing health care coverage by pursuing targeted premium support.
She has also outlined her proposal to guarantee pre-K access to every 4-year old in Georgia and require full-day kindergarten for Georgia students.
While Georgians have faced rising costs because of the tariff policies from the Trump Administration, Jackson bragged about how those same policies made him more money through stock trades. He also boasted about a boost in his profits because of the tax giveaway in the Big, Beautiful Bill that Trump signed into law last year.
Rick Jackson has made a billion dollars in no-bid state contracts through his health care company, but opposes Medicaid expansion as more than 300,000 Georgians have gone without health care coverage and nine rural hospitals have closed because of Georgia leaders’ refusal to expand the program.
