A billionaire healthcare CEO is spending tens of millions of dollars to flood Georgia airwaves with ads targeting immigrants, transgender people, and DEI.
Why It Matters: Georgia residents are watching a Republican primary race that could determine who runs the state, and right now, it’s being shaped less by policy debate and more by who can spend the most money the fastest.
What’s Happening: Rick Jackson, a billionaire CEO of a medical staffing company, announced in February he would spend at least $50 million to win the GOP gubernatorial nomination. His ads have saturated broadcast television, streaming platforms, and social media across Georgia.
- One ad warns undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes will end up “deported or departed.”
- Another ad targets gender-affirming care, threatening jail time for providers, despite the fact that Georgia already banned most gender reassignment surgery for minors back in 2023.
The Money Problem: Jackson entered the race late and is essentially attempting to purchase a path to the governor’s mansion through sheer financial force. He has filed lawsuits challenging fundraising rules that he says give his opponent an unfair advantage, rules that cap what he can raise while Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones chairs a committee that can collect unlimited funds.
Between the Lines: Jackson runs a medical staffing company with roughly one billion dollars in state contracts, and he wants to run the state government those contracts come from.
Georgia consistently ranks among the worst states in the nation for healthcare access and outcomes. Critics have questioned what a healthcare executive’s governorship would mean for a state that desperately needs healthcare reform.
Catch Up Quick: Georgia has seen this kind of political theater before. Years ago, a Republican candidate made national headlines by running ads featuring a deportation bus — a stunt designed more for cameras than for policy. Jackson’s “deported or departed” framing follows that same playbook. It also uses a page that was successful in Brian Kemp’s campaign for governor eight years ago. In those ads, Kemp nodded toward his pickup truck and said he might just deport some illegal immigrants himself.
- Jones, who had Trump’s endorsement and led in polls before Jackson entered, was briefly tied to the so-called “fake elector” scheme during Trump’s Georgia criminal case.
- The two candidates are scheduled to debate April 27th, ahead of the May 19th primary.
The Big Picture: What’s happening in Georgia’s GOP primary is a preview of a broader national trend — wealthy outsiders using personal fortunes to bypass traditional political infrastructure and go straight to voters through paid media.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
