ATLANTA, Ga. — Former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican healthcare executive Rick Jackson spent an hour Tuesday night answering undecided Georgia voters in a town hall that is expected to be their only joint appearance before the Nov. 3 election.
Hosted by Atlanta News First and Gray Media at an Atlanta television studio, the format barred the candidates from questioning each other directly. That did not stop sharp exchanges over data centers, election security, healthcare and Jackson’s past pledge to be President Donald Trump’s favorite governor, according to multiple statewide debate recaps published overnight.
Bottoms, the Democratic nominee and former Atlanta mayor, cast herself as the candidate who will stand up to Trump when needed and called for a pause on new data-center construction. Jackson, who has invested in at least one data-center project, rejected a statewide pause and pointed to Bottoms’ mayoral record approving a Georgia Tech-linked project she said was not a hyperscale center in a residential neighborhood.
On Flock license-plate cameras that blanket metro Atlanta, Bottoms said she would consider a moratorium on new installs while privacy rules tighten. Jackson opposed a moratorium, saying he does not want crime to rise, though both backed tougher penalties for misuse of the automated readers.
Healthcare and affordability dominated voter questions. Bottoms pushed full Medicaid expansion and tax relief aimed at teachers, car-insurance costs and an option for locals to suspend grocery sales tax. Jackson pledged to cut the state income tax in half in his first term or decline to seek reelection, and said he would pursue a limited Medicaid expansion designed to keep existing federal dollars — a figure he put at $4.5 billion without fully explaining the mechanism on air.
Jackson also pressed Bottoms on public safety during her mayoral years, while Bottoms tied him to federal budget cuts she said cost Georgians jobs. Both said they would raise teacher pay and crack down when insurers delay or deny care. Early voting begins Oct. 13. Recent polling shows the race essentially tied within the margin of error.