ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The race for Georgia’s next governor is effectively tied as both campaigns intensify their outreach statewide, according to a new poll.
An InsiderAdvantage poll found Republican nominee Rick Jackson with 46.3% support and Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms with 46.2% among likely voters surveyed.
With Gov. Brian Kemp barred by term limits from seeking another term, the race for the open seat has emerged as one of the country’s most closely watched contests.
At a campaign event in Decatur on Friday, Bottoms outlined her health care agenda before a room of nurses, calling for Georgia to expand Medicaid and increase public school funding.
“We need to focus on how we can expand Medicaid in Georgia,” Bottoms said, arguing that medical emergencies affect people regardless of political affiliation. “How we can access those federal dollars that we have left on the table to help cover people across the state.”
Jackson, a health care CEO, visited a local barbershop Thursday to promote an economic platform that includes freezing property taxes, reducing the state income tax and eliminating taxes on tips.
He shared stories about growing up in Atlanta’s Techwood Homes public housing development and receiving welfare benefits as he made his case for tax cuts and welfare-to-work initiatives.
“Tips are rent,” Jackson said. “Tips are groceries. Tips are school clothes. A server earns every one of these dollars.”
Both candidates are expected to continue campaigning across the state ahead of the Nov. 3 election.