Rick Jackson voices concern about complacency among rural Republicans

Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Rick Jackson, expressed worry about the possibility of rural Republican voters in the Peach State becoming complacent and opting out of showing up to the polls on Election Day.“I am concerned that rural Georgia still thinks we’re red and therefore they look at somebody like myself and my opponent and just say, ‘Well, there’s no comparison,'” Jackson said during a campaign event in Gordon County, Georgia.Jackson is facing off against Democratic former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the race to replace the popular, term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). Jackson has led within the margin of error in recent polling in the “toss-up” governor race, but a new analysis from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows that the state’s rural vote is lagging behind the voting surge that suburban regions are seeing in early voting. Jackson said at his campaign stop in Calhoun, Georgia, on Tuesday that Republicans are dealing with a “more generic environmental problem” in the 2026 cycle, according to the outlet.“We have to over-perform in rural Georgia, or we’re not going to win. It is that important,” Jackson said.He made the comments in more rural Gordon County, which voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 over then-Vice President Kamala Harris by a 63-point margin. According to the outlet’s analysis of early votes, voters in counties that voted for Trump are turning out at roughly the same rate they did in 2022, while in counties that voted for Harris, turnout is up 18% compared to the last midterm cycle. The early vote count does not say who or what party voters cast their ballots for.While Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has seen a lot of momentum this election cycle, pundits have thought Georgia could be a bastion for split-ticket voters, with voters possibly splitting between Ossoff and Jackson. But Ossoff has also campaigned downballot for Georgia Democrats, with Bottoms launching an ad today in which Ossoff endorsed her.Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is headed to the Peach State to rally Republicans to turn out and support Jackson for governor. Their rally will be held in Henry County outside of Atlanta.GEORGIA HITS 1 MILLION EARLY VOTES AS STATE SEES 12% INCREASE SINCE 2022 ELECTIONSPolymarket odds in the race favored Jackson recently until Bottoms flipped the odds in her favor on Monday.The state has seen a record early-voting turnout so far, with a 12% increase since the 2022 midterm elections, as of Tuesday.