Rick Jackson’s $87M ad buy targets Keisha Lance Bottoms’ mayoral record
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Voters in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District cast ballots in a special election.
- Brian Kemp rebuffs Keisha Lance Bottoms’ proposed data center pause.
- The Trump administration denies Mitzi Bickers’ clemency bid.
Spending spree
Billionaire Rick Jackson is reaching into his fortune again, this time for an $87 million ad buy that amounts to a huge down payment on the fall campaign.
During a stop in Thomasville, Jackson offered a preview of what all that money will buy — and how Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens figures into both halves of his pitch.
Jackson told supporters that an internal poll conducted three days after his runoff win showed 94% of Republicans were already rallying behind his campaign. President Donald Trump’s rally at a Cobb County high school last week “cemented” that support, he said.
Now comes the harder part: defining Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms — and introducing himself to everyone else.
Jackson said his campaign expects voters have largely forgotten the crime problems Atlanta faced during Bottoms’ tenure as mayor, in part because her successor has made progress.
“Most people have two things they don’t know. They have forgotten how bad it was back then, and we have to remind them. But I think because Andre Dickens has done a good job reducing crime, people have forgotten about it,” he said. “We have to remind people how bad it was.”
Then there’s Jackson’s own biography. His polling found only about 35% of voters know his rags-to-riches story, from government housing in Atlanta to billionaire executive, despite the seemingly inescapable ads earlier this year.
He got a reminder of that when he called Dickens to say he hoped they could work together if Jackson wins.
“And he said, ‘So, where are you from?’” Jackson recalled. When Jackson answered Atlanta, Dickens was surprised.
“He had no idea. Which is actually good confirmation of our polling,” Jackson said. “It showed our targeting of primary voters. Some of them saw some of the ads, but they didn’t hear my story. But when they are told the story, the polling shows there’s a big movement.”
Bottoms knows what’s headed her way. At an event geared toward Black men at The Gathering Spot, she conceded she’ll never match the financial firepower of a “gazillionaire.” But she vowed to squeeze the most out of what she can spend.
“There’s still a power of the megaphone. We’re going to do what we need to do with what we have, whatever that amount is,” Bottoms said. “I’m not surrendering. I won’t have that much money, but I’m saying whatever we have, we’re still gonna take our case directly to the people of this state.”
Jackson’s spending spree will ripple far beyond the governor’s race. After he poured more than $108 million into winning the GOP nomination, another huge buy means tighter — and pricier — airtime for everyone else on the ballot. It will be particularly hard for downballot contenders to snap up space, just as it was during the nomination fight.
It could also give Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins an indirect lift. GOP strategist Chip Lake, who knows what it’s like to face a big-spending rival, put it bluntly.
“Trust me when I say this matters. Bigly,” he wrote on X. “Midterms are always challenging for any party that controls the White House. This buy is a recognition that he’s aware of that — and bad news for any Georgia Democrat.”
Things to know
Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:
- Delta Air Lines was approached by competitor United Airlines last year about a potential merger, a deal that would have combined two of the country’s largest carriers, a new report says.
- OpenAI drew national attention last week with plans for a $20 billion data center complex near Savannah. What got less attention, Zachary Hansen reports, were the two other massive Georgia data center projects announced the very same day.
- Convicted Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray could be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty late last week to 55 charges related to the attack, Taylor Croft reports.
Election Day
Voters in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District will cast ballots today to elect someone to fulfill the unexpired term of U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died in April.
Former Gwinnett County School Board Chair Everton Blair and Marcye Scott, David Scott’s daughter, are the front-runners. This election feels strange because the winner will only be in office for a few months. In November, voters will pick someone for a full two-year term that starts in January. The two people in that race — Republican Jonathan Chavez and Democrat Jasmine Clark — are not running in today’s special election.
That doesn’t mean whoever wins Tuesday won’t have an impact. Congress is facing another potential federal government shutdown this year. Whoever wins will be part of that debate, plus discussions on the war in Iran and the farm bill. Their vote could be crucial given the close margins in Congress.
But the stakes have not resonated with voters. Less than 2% of registered voters cast ballots during the early voting period, or just under 10,000 people.
Kemp on data centers
Gov. Brian Kemp is reiterating he’s not a fan of Bottoms’ pledge to pause data center construction in Georgia.
Speaking to Politico Energy host Arianna Skibell, Kemp said “to have a moratorium just like the governor of New York did and what Keisha Lance Bottoms is proposing — to me is irresponsible,” he said.
Kemp pointed to Columbia County, where local officials reached an agreement with Google for a new data center that includes using some of the revenue to reduce property taxes.
“We’re not trying to go around and push a data center in somebody’s neighborhood that doesn’t want it,” Kemp said. “But there’s a lot of communities that see the benefits of this and want these projects.”
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we discuss the likelihood that Georgia voters will split their ballots for the state’s top two races of governor and U.S. Senate.
You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.
Request denied
The Trump Administration recently denied a clemency request from former city of Atlanta executive Mitzi Bickers that would have ended her 12-year federal prison sentence early, Rosie Manins reports.
Bickers was found guilty in 2022 of taking millions of dollars in bribes from city contractors. Earlier this year, two years were cut of her sentence, but that still meant 12 years behind bars. She is housed in a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky.
Attorneys for Bickers filed paperwork in 2024 seeking a commutation of her sentence, a form of clemency. The request was denied earlier this month.
Today in Washington
- Trump will meet at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before all three attend the funeral of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
- The Senate will spent most of the day at Graham’s memorial services but will return for an evening vote to confirm Walter Clayton as director of National Intelligence.
- The House is out until Aug. 31.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, will host an event in East Point to highlight federal dollars she helped obtain to pay for stormwater infrastructure improvements.
Smothered & covered
State Rep. Ruwa Romman’s plans to use a campaign logo recalling Waffle House’s iconic black-and-yellow signs were scrambled Monday when the Georgia-based breakfast emporium served her a cease and desist letter.
Waffle House’s general counsel reminded Romman that both the company’s corporate headquarters and the state Senate district she’s running to represent are both located entirely in Gwinnett County. “To say that our WAFFLE HOUSE logo is very well-known in Gwinnett County and associated with our restaurant, food and services would be an understatement,” the letter read.
The company asked her to stop using the likeness of its logo, arguing it creates the impression that Waffle House endorsed the Democrat’s campaign.
In a video response sure to prevent any future endorsement, Romman said that Waffle House had never endorsed her campaign, adding, “The reason that we know this is we believe in paying workers fair wages, giving them the benefits that they deserve, and providing them the protections they need to feel safe on the job.”
Shoutouts
Belated birthday:
- Former state Rep. Becky Evans (was Sunday).
Transition:
- Brian Harris is the new senior director of government affairs for Georgia for the League of Credit Unions and Affiliates. Harris was previously the director of government and community affairs at Georgia State University.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
State Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, will hold a news conference this afternoon to highlight what she says is “Georgia’s ongoing healthcare crisis and how GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson has failed to present any plan to fix it.”
That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider information to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.