If you want to become Georgia governor, show up for the debates

Rick Jackson, Georgia’s Republican nominee for governor, has developed a pattern of declining debates once the field narrows.

Jackson debated in the spring during the primary election cycle. He and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones appeared with the other Republican candidates for governor on April 27 in the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.

After the race narrowed to two candidates, he stopped showing up. Before the runoff, Jones stood on stage alone beside an empty podium representing Jackson, who declined to participate and cited a scheduling conflict, while Jackson held a Cobb County campaign event with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.

His campaign said the press club could not accommodate later dates and that Jackson accepted a Gray TV debate on June 14. Jones argued that a mid-June debate would come after many voters had already cast ballots.

The general election has followed the same pattern. Democratic nominee for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, accepted invitations to six televised debates in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah.

Bottoms appeared alone in Macon after Jackson declined to attend. An in-studio debate at 11ALIVE was canceled after Jackson declined to appear. The Atlanta Press Club’s debate producer said on Sept. 22 that Jackson had again formally declined its invitation. Bottoms will instead appear alone on Oct. 12, answering journalists’ questions with Jackson represented by an empty podium.

Debates test a candidate’s message before voters

Jackson has agreed to one event with Bottoms, a town hall Tuesday hosted by Atlanta News First. His campaign says it is focused on direct voter outreach.

The town hall is worth watching. It does not make up for the forums he has skipped.

One declined invitation can be a scheduling conflict. Declining the same forum twice in one election cycle, against two different opponents, is a choice.

Debates do something campaign events cannot. A campaign event delivers a candidate’s message. A debate tests it. Both candidates answer the same questions under the same rules. Opponents can challenge each other’s answers, journalists can follow up, and voters can compare claims side by side.

Georgia is a large state, and voters in Macon, Savannah, Albany, Columbus, Augusta and rural communities have different concerns than voters in Atlanta. Forums held across the state put those concerns in front of the candidates.

Jackson has agreed to one event with Bottoms, a town hall Tuesday hosted by Atlanta News First. His campaign says it is focused on direct voter outreach.

The town hall is worth watching. It does not make up for the forums he has skipped.

One declined invitation can be a scheduling conflict. Declining the same forum twice in one election cycle, against two different opponents, is a choice.

Debates do something campaign events cannot. A campaign event delivers a candidate’s message. A debate tests it. Both candidates answer the same questions under the same rules. Opponents can challenge each other’s answers, journalists can follow up, and voters can compare claims side by side.

Georgia is a large state, and voters in Macon, Savannah, Albany, Columbus, Augusta and rural communities have different concerns than voters in Atlanta. Forums held across the state put those concerns in front of the candidates.

The job itself raises the stakes. Under the Georgia Constitution, the governor proposes the state budget, sets the revenue estimate that caps how much the General Assembly can spend, oversees executive agencies, signs or vetoes legislation, calls special sessions, fills certain vacancies, and makes major appointments. Anyone seeking that much authority should expect to answer questions in public.

Jackson also invited a comparison to President Donald Trump. At the Atlanta Press Club primary debate, he said Trump’s business focus inspired his campaign and declared, “I’ll be just like him with a Southern tone.” During the primary, he rarely missed a chance to repeat the comparison.

Trump skipped GOP primary debates in 2024

Trump announced in August 2023 that he would skip the Republican primary debates, and he did not take part in any of them. Jackson’s record does not prove he is following that strategy. But the pattern looks similar, and Jackson is the one who told voters to expect a governor modeled on Trump.

No candidate has to accept every invitation. There is a difference, though, between missing one event and repeatedly avoiding independent questioning.

Voters deserve to see both candidates questioned and pressed on healthcare, education, taxes, housing, abortion, public safety, transportation, the economy, voting rights, the state budget and rural Georgia. Ads, stump speeches, and press releases do not do that.