A local Atlanta news station canceled a Georgia gubernatorial debate scheduled for Tuesday after Republican nominee Rick Jackson’s campaign skipped the debate in favor of an October match-up.
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor, hit Jackson hard over his refusal to agree to more debates throughout the campaign, dubbing him “Slick Rick” and calling him “too afraid” to face off. But Jackson’s campaign has argued he is more focused on directly connecting with Georgia voters rather than debating.
“I have called for six debates; Slick Rick Jackson said no to five of the six,” Bottoms said during a campaign event. “He would rather hide in his billionaire bunker instead of telling voters about his plan to be [President] Donald Trump’s do-boy in Georgia.”
Throughout the general election campaign, Jackson has agreed to one debate, an Oct. 6 town hall debate hosted by Atlanta News First. A Jackson campaign spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) had made a similar move in his 2018 campaign.
“Governor Kemp had one debate against Stacey Abrams in 2018 and went on to be the greatest governor this state has ever had,” Douglas said. “Rick will debate Keisha on October 6th. Keisha Lance Bottoms needs 6 debates because she ran her campaign into the ground and has no ability to reach Georgia voters on her own.”
When Jackson confirmed he was not attending the Tuesday night debate hosted by 11Alive, the network cancelled the debate that would have been broadcast statewide. Outside the 11Alive studios, Democratic Party of Georgia chairman Charlie Bailey held a press conference Tuesday to blast Jackson for skipping the debate, though Jackson supporters crashed the event.
“Slick Rick Jackson is too afraid to debate, because he knows he can’t defend his record of enriching himself off the backs of working families,” TaNisha Cameron, a Bottoms campaign spokesperson, told the Washington Examiner. “Georgians deserve to have their questions answered. Keisha will keep talking to Georgians across the state about her plans to expand Medicaid, bring down grocery costs, build more affordable housing, and guarantee pre-k for every four year old.”
Per a new YouGov poll released Wednesday, Jackson leads Bottoms by a single-digit margin.
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Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the race between Jackson and Bottoms as a toss-up, in a state with two Democratic Senators that Trump won in 2024 by a 2.2-point margin.
However, as the Cook Political Report shifted Georgia’s Senate race toward incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Wednesday, its analyst Jessica Taylor argued that Bottoms is “underperforming” Ossoff statewide. Taylor added that pundits “expect to see quite a few split ticket voters between Ossoff and Republican Rick Jackson.”