Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson told a supporter at an August rally that Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) will use the National Guard to help watch over the 2026 elections.
After an event Jackson held in mid-August in Columbus, Georgia, a rally-goer came up to the Republican candidate and told Jackson that he was worried “the Democrats are going to cheat” in the November midterm elections, according to audio obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jackson told the supporter, “I know, we’re going to have people watching out for us,” according to the audio.
“Trump’s got federal troops. Can you call up and get some federal troops from Trump?” the rally-goer asked Jackson in the audio.
“We’ll get National Guard — Governor Kemp is going to watch it for us,” Jackson replied.
When the rally-goer followed up with, “Is that right?” Jackson responded, “Yes, he’s going to get the National Guard.”
Election integrity has been a flashpoint of concern for Republicans across the first two years of President Donald Trump’s second term, as federal legislators look to pass Trump’s hailed SAVE America Act and state Republicans seek to safeguard local elections from interference. Georgia has also been a hotbed for election security concerns after Trump unsuccessfully challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Republicans in states such as New Jersey have requested federal poll monitors to ensure no one is voting in elections who shouldn’t be. However, the move to deploy poll monitors has drawn pushback from Democrats concerned that monitors may dissuade certain voters from participating on Election Day.
A Jackson campaign spokesman told the Washington Examiner that the gubernatorial nominee “never suggested deploying troops at polling places.”
“We trust Governor Kemp to run safe and secure elections,” the campaign spokesman said in a statement. “Under his leadership, Georgia has been a national leader in making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. Our campaign will also have a robust election integrity operation to ensure every registered voter in Georgia has the resources and opportunity to make their voices heard.”
The Jackson campaign also pointed out that the National Guard’s cyberspace operations teams have helped maintain election security on the cyber side of systems under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) used the National Guard’s cybersecurity team in 2022 in Colorado.
Kemp’s team gave the Washington Examiner the following statement when reached for comment about the possibility of his administration deploying the National Guard in the 2026 Georgia elections.
“We’ve proven for multiple cycles now that it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat in Georgia elections,” a Kemp spokesperson said. “The same will be true this cycle. We are approaching this upcoming election the exact same way we have in the past.”
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Kemp, along with Trump, initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R-GA) in his primary runoff against Jackson, but has since backed Jackson, campaigning with the billionaire businessman this weekend.
Jackson is facing off against former Democratic Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the election. Limited general election polling has shown a tight race, and the Cook Political Report lists it as a toss-up.