Rick Jackson (Source: Rick Jackson for Governor campaign announcement)
ATLANTA - Rick Jackson is seeking Georgia’s highest office as a businessman and political newcomer, arguing that his experience building a health care company would help him lower costs and improve state government.
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Jackson defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the June 16 Republican runoff and faces former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the Nov. 3 election. They are competing to succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who cannot seek a third consecutive term.
Personal background and education
Jackson grew up in Atlanta, including time in the Techwood Homes public housing community. He has described a childhood marked by poverty, his mother’s alcoholism and periods of neglect. He lived in five foster homes, an experience that has become central to his campaign.
After high school, Jackson attended David Lipscomb College, now Lipscomb University, in Nashville. He did not finish because he could not afford to continue. He later took a small-business course at Georgia State University and developed a relationship with an instructor who became a longtime mentor.
Jackson is married to Melody Moore Jackson, a Georgia Tech professor and director of its Center for BioInterface Research. He has three adult children: Shane, Chad and Dana.
Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s profile; Georgia Tech’s faculty biography for Melody Jackson.
Business career
Jackson’s business career began in staffing. In 1976, he bought the secretarial staffing company where he worked, later moving into executive recruiting and health care staffing.
He built Jackson Healthcare, an Alpharetta-based medical staffing and workforce company that connects hospitals and other facilities with physicians, nurses and other health professionals. The company reports annual revenue exceeding $3 billion.
Jackson has made his business background the foundation of his campaign, presenting himself as an alternative to candidates whose experience comes primarily from elected office.
Sources: AJC’s business and personal profile
Philanthropy and foster care advocacy
Jackson’s charitable work has included supporting foster children and producing faith-based movies through Giving Films, a nonprofit venture whose profits support charities.
His involvement in Georgia foster care policy predates his campaign. He backed a 2022 law providing tax credits for donations supporting young people leaving foster care.
An earlier effort to partially privatize Georgia’s child welfare system met opposition from advocates concerned about oversight, liability and whether the proposed model would improve children’s safety. His campaign had not said whether he would revive that approach when the AJC reported on the issue in July.
Sources: AJC’s philanthropy profile; AJC reporting on his foster care advocacy and proposals.
Campaign platform: Income and property taxes
Jackson proposes cutting Georgia’s state income tax in half within four years and working toward eliminating it within eight years.
He also supports freezing increases in home valuations that drive property tax bills, eliminating state taxes on residential electricity and natural gas, and ending state income taxes on tips.
Jackson says he would offset lost revenue through economic growth, lower government operating expenses and updated technology. Those are proposed policies, rather than tax changes already enacted.
Sources: AJC’s comparison of the candidates’ tax proposals
Campaign platform: Gas prices
Jackson proposes automatically suspending Georgia’s gas tax for 60 days when average prices rise sharply because of an international conflict, natural disaster or comparable outside event.
His proposed triggers are an increase of at least 35 cents per gallon within seven days or 75 cents within 30 days. He argues that relief should take effect quickly when emergencies increase household costs.
Source: AJC reporting on his fuel tax proposal.
Campaign platform: Health care and Medicaid
Jackson emphasizes lowering private insurance costs, reducing administrative expenses and using technology to improve health care.
His Medicaid position has evolved during the campaign. In August, the AJC reported that he opposed full expansion and favored an approach involving work requirements and a fixed federal block grant.
At the Oct. 6 debate, Jackson said he supported expanding Medicaid, provided it would not jeopardize $4.5 billion in existing federal funding. The debate coverage did not establish a detailed implementation plan.
He also proposed negotiating prescription drug prices at the state level, improving price transparency, giving patients greater control over digital health records and taking action against insurers that delay payments or improperly deny claims.
Sources: FOX 5 Atlanta’s October debate coverage; FOX 5’s coverage of his Doraville campaign stop.
Campaign platform: Education and workforce training
Jackson has made third-grade reading proficiency a central education priority. He also supports raising teacher pay, although the AJC reported Oct. 5 that he had not specified the amount.
He proposes making child care more affordable by expanding insurance options for providers, streamlining licensing and reducing regulations while maintaining safety standards.
Jackson also supports expanding vocational opportunities for high school students and adults, including training in agriculture, plumbing and electrical work. He has endorsed participation in a federal tax credit program supporting donations for private school scholarships.
Sources: GPB’s early education forum coverage; FOX 5’s debate reporting; WABE’s affordability reporting.
Campaign platform: Public safety and child protection
Jackson supports additional resources and personnel for sheriffs and tougher enforcement against violent crime. His campaign announced endorsements from 104 Georgia sheriffs in August.
His anti-trafficking proposals include using cyber technology, data analysis and appropriate artificial intelligence tools to identify recruitment patterns, track financial activity and locate children.
On police surveillance, Jackson opposed a moratorium on new Flock cameras during the October debate, arguing that officials should address misuse and strengthen security while retaining the technology’s crime-solving capabilities.
Sources: FOX 5’s sheriff endorsement coverage; FOX 5 reporting on his anti-trafficking proposals; WABE’s debate coverage.
Campaign platform: Immigration
Jackson supports closer cooperation with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement and has pledged to make deportation of unauthorized immigrants who break the law a priority.
A primary campaign advertisement used the phrase "deported or departed," drawing backlash. Jackson later said his focus was on people committing crimes and enforcing the law. ajc.com
Sources: AJC’s immigration platform comparison; FOX 5’s reporting on his explanation of the advertisement.
Campaign platform: Abortion
Jackson supports Georgia’s existing abortion law, including its exceptions for rape, incest and medical circumstances involving the mother’s life.
His campaign reiterated that position after questions arose about remarks he made during an exchange with a voter concerning the law’s exceptions.
Source: AJC reporting on the candidates’ abortion positions.
Campaign platform: Foster care
Jackson proposes increasing resources for the Division of Family and Children Services and modernizing its systems.
His plans also include centralizing adoption procedures with a goal of cutting adoption time in half, expanding foster parent training, providing more education and life-skills programs, and helping children remain in their home communities and schools.
Source: AJC’s reporting on his foster care agenda.
Campaign platform: Data centers, business and agriculture
Jackson opposes a blanket moratorium on data centers. At the October debate, he said projects should have community support, meet strict environmental standards and provide benefits such as lower power bills or property taxes.
He also proposes requiring developers to cover infrastructure costs associated with their projects.
His broader economic agenda includes capital and training for small businesses, infrastructure and agricultural processing investments, and protecting agricultural tax exemptions.
Sources: FOX 5’s economic platform coverage; FOX 5’s agricultural platform coverage.
Campaign platform: Veterans
Jackson’s veterans proposal includes creating a Governor’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, establishing a support hotline, waiving professional license fees, expanding health care access and providing grants to veterans organizations. ajc.com
Source: AJC reporting on his veterans agenda.
Political alliances and campaign financing
Jackson initially defeated a candidate endorsed by Trump: Jones. Trump subsequently endorsed Jackson in July.
Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own money during the Republican primary campaign, according to the AJC. His personal wealth helped turn him from a relatively little-known businessman into the party’s nominee. ajc.com
Sources: AJC’s runoff coverage; Axios reporting on Trump’s endorsement.
State contracts and potential conflicts of interest
Jackson Healthcare’s government business has drawn scrutiny during the campaign. The AJC reported in March that subsidiaries had received more than $1 billion in state agency payments since a no-bid staffing contract was signed during the 2020 public health emergency.
Jackson initially pledged to unwind existing contracts and stop bidding on new state contracts if elected. In August, he said the company’s health care contracting with Georgia would end by Dec. 31 if he won.
That pledge followed reporting that a subsidiary had renewed a contract extending into the next governor’s term. Jackson said outstanding contracts could be canceled and that he wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Sources: AJC reporting on the state contracts; WABE’s reporting on the renewed contract and his response.
Alabama hospital investment
Jackson’s investment group provided a $35 million loan to help keep Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, operating during bankruptcy.
The arrangement drew criticism because his staffing company was already a major creditor and the loan gave his investment group significant leverage over the hospital. Jackson described the approach as using investment capital to address structural health care problems.
The hospital subsequently emerged from bankruptcy in September after reaching an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. ajc.com
Sources: AJC’s examination of the hospital investment; AJC’s September update on the hospital’s emergence from bankruptcy.