The newest candidate in Georgia’s race for governor sat in his fifth-floor office overlooking the sprawling Alpharetta health care campus he built, recounting for the first time at length why he upended the GOP contest with a surprise bid that stunned the most seasoned political stalwarts.
About a year ago, billionaire Rick Jackson pledged to back Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ bid for the state’s top office. Now he says he’s prepared to spend at least $50 million of his own fortune to defeat his Donald Trump-backed rival and capture one of the nation’s most competitive midterm prizes.
Jackson explains his game-changing decision through a business lens. In 2021, he bought a struggling plant in Tennessee that billed itself as the only American manufacturer of crucial antibiotics. What followed, he said, were maddening regulatory delays on Democratic President Joe Biden’s watch.
When Trump returned to office last year, Jackson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it felt like a business-oriented switch had flipped. The 71-year-old said the experience prompted a broader reckoning about what he should do in this phase of his life.
“I saw government in action in a way I hadn’t before. And then I started looking at the rest of my life: What could I do to have the most impact?” he said. “Then I thought, there’s a way I can have a positive impact on 11 million Georgians.”
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
He also saw an opening. Most polls show a significant bloc of GOP voters in the state still on the fence, despite Trump’s early intervention. He sees Jones as “lazy” and the other two Republicans — Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — as nonstarters.
And with Trump set to visit Georgia this week, Jackson says he sees room to impress the president.
“Look, I’m a risk-taker,” he said. “And I know I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor. I guarantee you. That’s because I’m going to be doing things just like he would do it — just with a Southern tone.”
Jackson’s decision to jump into the race was the best kept secret in Georgia politics. He said only a small circle knew of his plans because if word had leaked, the bid would have “gotten killed in the cradle.”
Already, he’s getting a taste of the pushback. Jones has blasted him for contributing to Trump’s GOP rivals for most of the past decade and mocked his more recent $1 million to the president as an 11th-hour MAGA embrace.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Jackson brushes aside those attacks, comparing himself to other former skeptics who now serve in Trump’s orbit.
“Like JD Vance and Marco Rubio, I’m late to the party,” he said. “I’ll take that hit, but there’s no bigger supporter of Trump right now than I am.”
He also flatly denies involvement in another political mystery: roughly $16 million in attack ads targeting Jones. Asked whether he or anyone associated with him is behind the blitz, Jackson was unequivocal: “I don’t know who’s behind it. I really don’t.”
‘Not about me’
In the early days of his campaign, Jackson is treading a delicate line: a political newcomer who has long moved comfortably inside Georgia power circles — from foster care legislation to pandemic-era response — who is now promising to overhaul the very system he helped shape.
Jackson argues his path from foster child to billionaire executive of Jackson Healthcare grants him a level of independence. Even so, he’s embracing familiar Republican positions on top issues.
Credit: Energage
Credit: Energage
He said he is “entirely pro life” and supports Georgia’s six-week abortion law, adding he “wouldn’t change a thing.” He said he would not seek new gun restrictions and pledged Georgia would fully support Trump’s immigration crackdown.
He plans to cut Georgia’s income tax in half and freeze property taxes, saying he won’t seek another term if he falls flat.
On the FBI raid of Fulton County’s elections office, he said he supports letting the investigation play out, but also argues Georgia’s 2020 election rules were improved under Gov. Brian Kemp.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
And Jackson, who even modeled his campaign launch after the president with a celebratory elevator descent, said he couldn’t name a single White House policy he disagrees with.
Health care is where Jackson claims his greatest advantage — and where he makes his boldest promise. He opposes Medicaid expansion and instead backs what he calls a “state solution” that squeezes out middlemen costs.
“I am telling you, the feds aren’t going to solve this. I’m going to solve it in Georgia. And it’s going to be a model for the nation,” he said. “If we don’t have the most affordable health care plan in the United States, I will quit. I am that confident.”
His most succinct answer came when he was asked what would surprise voters most about the way he would govern.
“It is not about me.”
Here’s where Jackson stands on key issues.
Abortion
“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.”
Immigration enforcement
“I am really old school when it comes to law enforcement and obeying the law. … We will support the feds with whatever they want ... We’re going to support federal laws. Period.”
The 2020 election
“We were set up for a lot of problems in 2020. There is no question that it could have been smoother. The good news is in 2021, Gov. Kemp solved it and made it easier to vote and harder to cheat. The best way to give confidence to everybody is to ensure it’s done fairly.”
On the Fulton County raid
“If they can find any information that we don’t have already, then fine. … I’ve lived here all my life and Fulton County has had all kinds of problems. So I’m not surprised that this happened. And I support letting the investigation play out.”
On guns
“I’m pro Second Amendment. I think we have some pretty good Second Amendment freedoms now. I certainly wouldn’t restrict anything.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
