Georgia voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to choose their next governor in a close race between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, and Republican Rick Jackson, a healthcare billionaire.
Jackson, 72, founded Jackson Healthcare, a company that provides medical staffing services to hospitals. He is running for public office for the first time and has spent more than $200 million of his own money on the race.
Bottoms, 56, served as Atlanta’s mayor before joining the Biden administration as a senior adviser. She left the White House in 2023, less than a year after taking the position.
President Donald Trump announced that he had fired Bottoms from a federal position, but she said she had already resigned. She announced her run for governor in April 2025.
Recent polls show a close race. A University of Georgia poll for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put Jackson at 46% and Bottoms at 45%. A separate InsiderAdvantage poll released November 2 showed both candidates tied at 49% each.
Georgia saw record-breaking early voting for a midterm election, with more than 2.8 million ballots cast before Election Day, including a record 2.7 million in person. Those votes cannot be publicly reported until polls close Tuesday.
Turnout could play a major role in the race. Democrats have historically performed well during early voting, while Republicans have typically seen stronger turnout on Election Day. Jackson has encouraged rural voters to head to the polls.
Bottoms also made a final push for votes, appearing alongside former President Barack Obama at a rally in Clayton County last week.
Polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with results expected to start coming in afterward.
