Republican health care executive becomes surprise late entrant in Georgia’s race for governor

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 6:01 PM

It turns out the race to be Georgia’s next governor is not so set after all. With the primary less than five months away, another prominent candidate has jumped into the contest for the Republican nomination. Jackson Healthcare founder and CEO Rick Jackson announced his candidacy Tuesday, and his campaign said he planned to spend […]

Rick Jackson, the founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, speaks at a Thanksgiving event for former foster youth in 2025. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder

It turns out the race to be Georgia’s next governor is not so set after all.

With the primary less than five months away, another prominent candidate has jumped into the contest for the Republican nomination.

Jackson Healthcare founder and CEO Rick Jackson announced his candidacy Tuesday, and his campaign said he planned to spend an “initial” $40 million to introduce him to voters, with ads set to begin airing Wednesday.

“I don’t need this job for money or power. It’s not about me,” he said in his launch video Tuesday.

His video describes him as a “Trump-supporting, straight-talking billionaire businessman with nothing to lose” who grew up in Georgia’s foster care system and went on to start Alpharetta-based Jackson Healthcare.

Jackson says in the video that he “donated a million bucks to Trump because Trump’s success inspired me to do this for Georgia.”

But Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ campaign immediately went to work casting doubt on the depth of Jackson’s support for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jones in the race for governor last fall. Jones was an early backer of Trump’s first campaign for the White House in 2016, and he remained one of the president’s most ardent supporters following his 2020 loss.

“The Never-Trump lane just got way more expensive and way more crowded,” Jones campaign spokesperson Kayla Lott said in a statement responding to Jackson’s announcement.

Till now, the GOP side of the race has been a three-way contest, with Jones battling it out with Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The late entrance of a politically connected and independently wealthy new contender has delivered a jolt to what otherwise seemed like an established field of candidates for the May 19 primary.

Carr’s campaign said it was unfazed by the news. Raffensperger’s campaign did not comment Tuesday.

“Chris Carr’s strategy remains unchanged,” said Julia Mazzone, a Carr campaign spokesperson. “He is the only candidate with the proven conservative record needed to win both the primary and the general election.”

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