Republican · Georgia governor · 2026
Rick Jackson
Jackson grew up with a mother who struggled with alcoholism and spent part of his childhood in foster care.
Biography
Rick Jackson grew up in Atlanta's Techwood Homes and moved through five foster homes and thirteen schools.1 He says he never knew his father and that his mother struggled with alcoholism.1 He and his wife, Melody, now live in Forsyth County and have three children.23
After leaving college, Jackson took a commission sales job and later bought the business where he worked.1 He founded Jackson Healthcare in 2000 and remains its chairman and chief executive; the Alpharetta company provides healthcare staffing and workforce services.4 He also holds a producer credit on the 2015 film 90 Minutes in Heaven.53
Jackson chairs Fostering Success Act, Inc., which accepts donations eligible for state tax credits to support young people leaving foster care.6 Its assistance covers education, housing, food, transportation and other needs while participants pursue college or vocational training.6 His business record also includes government clients: a March 2026 Healthbeat analysis found nearly $1 billion in state payments to his companies since fiscal 2020, much of it for pandemic staffing.7
His platform promises to freeze property taxes, halve the state income tax within four years and freeze public college tuition, room and board.8 His healthcare plan would seek enhanced federal Medicaid funding while keeping some adults on subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance.2 He faces Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms on November 3 for the open governorship.2
Record and controversies
State contracts and Medicare settlement
Jackson's companies received nearly $1 billion in state agency payments since fiscal 2020, according to reporting on state contracts.9 In August 2026, a subsidiary's staffing contract was extended into the next governor's term.9 Jackson said a termination clause would let him end that contract after winning and pledged to terminate his companies' state contracts before taking office; Bottoms called for suspending new contracts during the campaign.9
A Jackson Healthcare subsidiary, Jackson & Coker, and a physician agreed to pay a combined $700,000 in 2024 to settle False Claims Act allegations involving telemedicine orders billed to Medicare.1011 The company and physician admitted the agreement's factual recitations without admitting liability or fault; Rick Jackson was not named as a defendant.12 The Justice Department said the company cooperated fully and took significant steps to improve compliance controls.11