How Rick Jackson spent $220M trying to become Georgia’s governor

Republican Rick Jackson has poured more than $200 million of his fortune into Georgia’s race for governor, putting him among the biggest self-funding candidates in U.S. history. And the election is still days away.

The healthcare executive’s spending is approaching the scale of the $216 million Democrat Tom Steyer spent from his own fortune on his failed bid for governor of California, a state that has three times Georgia’s population and some of the most expensive media markets in the country.

So where did all that money go? Jackson’s two campaign accounts have spent nearly $165 million on TV and cable ads, at least $8 million on direct mail, and millions more on polling, phone banks, staff and an elaborate voter-turnout operation.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of campaign finance disclosures reveals how Jackson has deployed his fortune to transform Georgia’s race for governor — first to overcome a better-known rival in the GOP primary and then face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The spending has shattered state political records and allowed Jackson to dominate the airwaves, blanket voters with campaign mailers and bankroll a sophisticated turnout operation his aides likened to a “concierge” service.

About three-quarters of the total $220 million spending was on TV and cable ads that put his ubiquitous messaging on streaming platforms, sitcoms, sporting events and more. Direct mail and other outreach accounted for about a tenth of his total.

But all that money hasn’t given him a commanding lead. The latest AJC poll shows the race is deadlocked, mirroring other surveys that show a neck-and-neck contest for Georgia’s top job.

The spending highlights both the extraordinary depth of Jackson’s resources and the limits of his financial advantage in an election Donald Trump has cast as a referendum on his presidency.

And Jackson isn’t finished.

An ad blitz like no other

Jackson stunned Republicans with his surprise campaign announcement in February and his pledge to spend at least $50 million to bolster his bid.

Even so, few could have expected that he’d quadruple that sum by the end of the race.

Facing Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other GOP rivals, the billionaire immediately began pouring it into television ads to introduce himself to voters and slam his rivals.

His case against Jones was helped by months of blistering attacks from an anonymous group that spent roughly $20 million to target the GOP front-runner. Jackson has repeatedly denied any role in funding the group, though Jones said he’s convinced the billionaire is behind it.

Jackson’s spending ramped up through the May primary and June runoff, when he defeated Jones despite Jones’ endorsements from Trump and, at the last minute, popular two-term Gov. Brian Kemp.

By then, Jackson had spent roughly $108 million to win the GOP nod, more than three-quarters of it on television and cable advertising.

Jones told the AJC after his defeat that the attacks “trashing me, trashing my family, trashing basically everything that I had done” also dented Republican turnout.

“It affects your children — it affects your wife — when it’s being pumped into your living room every day that your daddy is Pablo Escobar,” he said.

Jackson kept up the pace after winning the nomination, spending nearly $100 million between Aug. 1 and Oct. 20

The biggest overall recipient of the campaign’s largesse was Smart Media Group, a Virginia-based Republican media firm that received roughly $126.4 million from Jackson’s campaign.

Another $37.3 million went to Ballast, a Delaware-based firm that handled much of Jackson’s television advertising.

The massive spending allowed Jackson to blanket the airwaves with ads promoting his foster-care-to-billionaire backstory and policy agenda while slamming Bottoms over her record as Atlanta mayor.

It also gave him extraordinary flexibility. While most candidates have to ration their ad budgets, Jackson could unload a slew of different messages as the landscape changed — and keep them on the air.

A sprawling ‘concierge’ operation

Television ads aren’t the campaigns only weapons.

The disclosures show at least $24 million for direct mail and other outreach efforts. It helped fund an extensive operation that has filled Georgia mailboxes with glossy brochures and biographical pieces.

A large share of that spending went to GMRP, a consulting firm that received about $17.7 million. Another $8.4 million went to Storytellers Group. Quiver received roughly $6.4 million for direct mail, signs and other services.

The combined operation also spent nearly $6 million on polling and survey research and $4.4 million staffing phone banks. And Jackson devoted roughly $4.3 million to canvassing and get-out-the-vote operations, much of it through Canvass America. Another $2 million paid the salaries of a small legion of consultants and staffers.

A turnabout

During the primary, Jackson went to court to challenge a Georgia law that allows some incumbents to accept unlimited campaign donations. He argued the “leadership committees” gave Jones an unfair fundraising advantage.

Once he won the nomination, Jackson formed his own committee and dropped the litigation.

His committee has since raised more than $35 million, including at least $21.5 million from the Republican Governors Association.

Between July and September, it transferred $15 million to his campaign. It also sent $5.2 million to the Georgia GOP to help build out its grassroots network and target reliable conservative voters.

A financial gulf

The overwhelming scale of Jackson’s spending forced Bottoms to scramble to keep pace.

The former Atlanta mayor struggled to collect cash for much of the year, but her fundraising has ramped up as November nears.

Bottoms raised $23.2 million through her campaign and leadership committee between Aug. 1 and Oct. 20.

The Democratic Governors Association has pledged to spend at least $15 million. And she received seven-figure checks from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Still, the two candidates entered the closing days with vastly different war chests.

Jackson had nearly $22 million remaining across his two accounts as of Oct. 20, compared with roughly $2.2 million for Bottoms.

She is betting that Democratic enthusiasm can overcome his massive financial advantage. That was her message at Wednesday’s rally with former President Barack Obama.