SAVANNAH, Ga. — Coastal voters watching Georgia’s governor’s race got their only scheduled look at Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson together Tuesday night, as the candidates fielded undecided-voter questions in an Atlanta News First town hall ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Georgia Recorder and Capitol Beat both described an hour that stayed polite early, then sharpened over data centers, rural healthcare staffing and election security. Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, accused Jackson of profiting from a broken hospital-staffing model and of investing in data centers while communities resist new builds. Jackson denied investing in four centers, acknowledged at least one Texas project, and said Bottoms approved tax-favored data-center work while mayor.
For Savannah and the coast, the data-center fight and Jackson’s Medicaid pitch matter alongside port-driven growth and hospital access down I-16 and U.S. 17. Bottoms backs full Medicaid expansion; Jackson says he wants a limited expansion that keeps about $4.5 billion in current federal dollars — without detailing the mechanism on air.
Both candidates said they would raise teacher pay and crack down on insurers that delay care. Jackson pledged to halve the state income tax in one term or not seek reelection. Bottoms floated cutting car-insurance and homeowners-insurance pass-through taxes and letting locals suspend grocery sales tax.
Early voting opens Oct. 13. Polling remains within the margin of error.