Georgia governor debate: Candidates clash as new poll shows Rick Jackson leading GOP field

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia’s leading candidates for governor squared off Monday at Georgia Public Broadcasting headquarters during the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, exchanging sharp attacks as early voting got underway ahead of the May 19 election.

The debate came as a new InsiderAdvantage poll showed health care executive Rick Jackson leading the Republican field. The survey of 800 likely GOP primary voters, conducted April 22–23, put Jackson at 32%, followed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones at 25%, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at 11%, and Attorney General Chris Carr at 6%. Twenty-three percent of respondents were undecided. The poll’s margin of error was ±3.46%.

Tensions were already high before the debate began, with Jones’ campaign releasing a new attack ad targeting Jackson earlier in the day.

Onstage, Jones pressed Jackson over his ties to Planned Parenthood and allegations about hiring undocumented workers.

“My question for you — who is the real Rick Jackson?” Jones asked during the exchange.

Jackson said he had not accepted any funding from Planned Parenthood. When Jones followed up by asking, “Do you have illegals working for you right now?” Jackson replied, “I don’t know.”

On the Democratic side, candidates repeatedly targeted Geoff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor now running as a Democrat.

“You don’t join a church and say a month later you need to be chief pastor,” said state Sen. Jason Esteves, pushing back on Duncan’s candidacy.

Esteves and others also jockeyed for position behind former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is widely viewed as the Democratic front-runner.

Duncan warned that a Republican victory would increase former President Donald Trump’s influence in Georgia government.

“If a Republican wins office, Donald Trump will literally have an office at the Georgia Capitol,” he said.

Bottoms faced criticism tied to a death investigation that named her as a defendant and raised concerns about the city’s response to gang activity during her tenure as mayor.

“You can’t have the death of a child — any child — and not think, what could I have done differently,” Bottoms said.

The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series has played a significant role in shaping Georgia politics for more than two decades.

Early voting is now underway. Election Day is May 19.