State Rep. Derrick Jackson launching bid to be Georgia's next governor

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State Rep. Derrick Jackson speaks at the Georgia Capitol. (FOX 5)

ATLANTA - State Rep. Derrick Jackson is the latest Democrat to join the race to succeed Brian Kemp as Georgia's next governor.

The metro Atlanta lawmaker plans to launch his campaign on Friday, joining three other Democrats in a race without a clear frontrunner after two high-profile candidates decided not to run.

What they're saying:

Jackson, a former marketing executive with General Electric, was elected to the state House in 2016.

Speaking to the Associated Press, the U.S. Navy veteran said he would "put Georgia families first," in part by expanding access to medical care and economic opportunities in rural areas.

"My Republican friends love to tout Georgia as the number one state to do business, but I’m going to campaign on making Georgia the number one place to work, to play, to have a family and for young professionals to realize that regardless of which of the 159 counties they live in, there’s going to be opportunity there," Jackson said.

Inspired by civil rights icon John Lewis, Jackson said he has a "moral obligation" to run because he saw state and federal policies that were "not right, not fair, not just." He wants to help Georgians who could be impacted by President Donald Trump’s sweeping bill that Jackson said "will devastate a lot of families" with provisions such as cuts to Medicaid funds.

He said he plans to push for stricter gun regulations and to repeal Georgia’s abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy.

Dig deeper:

Jackson will join former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta state Sen. Jason Esteves and Atlanta pastor Olu Brown in the Democratic primary. 

They will compete for the Democratic nomination in the race to replace Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was limited to two terms in office. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who ran and lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022, has not closed the door on a third run.

Jackson finished sixth in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in 2022. After losing, he was reelected to the House in 2023 following the death of state Rep. Tish Naghise. He was defeated last year by Rep. Carolyn Hugley after running for House minority leader. Despite past losses, Jackson said his experience campaigning for statewide office will help him pull ahead of his competitors.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, once the expected frontrunner known for her gun control advocacy, announced in March she wasn’t running because she needed to focus on her husband’s health after complications from cancer surgery. Former state Sen. Jason Carter, former President Jimmy Carter’s moderate grandson and the Democrats’ 2014 nominee for governor, said he would not run because his wife was diagnosed with cancer.

On the Republican side, Attorney General Chris Carr is the only candidate who has declared so far. Other high-profile Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, could eventually announce plans to run.