Rick Jackson’s win is a plot twist that may upend the Ossoff-Bottoms ticket
The Republican primary was Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’s to lose. He did just that. As I noted a few months ago, Georgia has a history of rejecting its lieutenant governors for the top job.
Normally, that happens in the general election. It is what the Democrats were counting on. Nobody saw health care billionaire Rick Jackson coming.
In a Greek tragedy, Jackson’s entry into the race would be Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s peripeteia, without, at first knowing it.
His entry is the upending of her path towards power. Jackson clearly planned this out, going so far as to get Burt Jones to record a video praising Jackson before Jackson entered the race.
Jones’s allies viewed it as a dirty trick. Every political consultant in Georgia knew that was the sign Jackson not only meant business but has put a lot of thought into winning.
Jackson articulated his ambition better than Jones
The race is now upended. Democrats had expected to run against a lieutenant governor tied to Donald Trump in a state more blue now than in 2018 when Brian Kemp, then branded as Trump’s guy, narrowly beat Stacey Abrams for governor.
One cannot blame them. Everyone expected the same thing. Jones had money to burn. Neither of his opponents had the money or organization Jones had built. Jones had cultivated allies among the conservative grassroots with stewardship of socially conservative legislation. He did everything he was supposed to do.
But there were problems. Had Jackson ultimately lost, I would have written a piece that Jackson’s entry into the race made Jones a better candidate. Burt Jones is a great guy, but he was generally a terrible interview.
More than once, I had privately urged his team to get him media training. When I interviewed him and the other Republican candidates before the primary, he had improved his skills. The conversation flowed better, he was more relaxed, and he was a more engaging interview. The problem was his answers.
In 1980, challenging President Jimmy Carter, in a November 1979 interview, CBS reporter Roger Mudd asked Ted Kennedy, “Why do you want to be president?” What followed was a rambling, inarticulate, and confused answer that showed Kennedy really had no idea why he was really running other than he thought it was his time.
I asked all four major Republican candidates for Georgia governor a variation of that question — why are you running for governor? More specifically, for Jones, I asked: “Some say this is just a step up for you, or do you feel passionate about leading the state?”
He said he felt passionate about leading the state but seemed boxed in by Governor Kemp’s legacy. He wanted to continue the course, not chart a new vision. The answer came across flatter than his opponents. Perhaps it was my question, but around the state talking to voters and even supporters, people were not sure what the vision and message were beyond being ready for the promotion.
Jackson came in with a fully formed campaign from Day 1 that centered on his impressive biography — a biography Democrats must now try to battle. He came in with a vision for foster care reform, his signature issue, and for real reforms for property taxes and even how to let counties reject or embrace data centers as counties might want. He was thoughtful. Jackson also became notorious for lingering on the campaign trail and answering any questions from anyone.
How Democrats respond will define the elections
Democrats had intended for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Mayor Bottoms to run as a ticket, doing rallies and campaigning around the state together. But that was with U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and Burt Jones on the Republican side. Now, the Republicans are offering up Collins with a man who grew up in the projects, ran away from home and became a billionaire.
Attacking his wealth will be an attack on the American Dream at a time Democrats are being overrun by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Attacking him as an employer when he has a highly diverse workforce will be difficult. Jackson’s company saved a lot of lives in Georgia during COVID.
How Ossoff and Bottoms, in this changed dynamic, campaign together will be interesting. So too will the dynamics between Collins and Jackson. But, most interestingly, will be how Democrats respond to the plot twist.
For Georgians, we have at least one blessing in all of this. With the runoffs now over, we are marked safe from campaign ads for a month or so.
Erick Erickson is host of the nationally syndicated “Erick Erickson Show,” heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on WSB radio. He is also a contributor to the AJC.
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