(The Center Square) – Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms led Democrat Rick Jackson in a Fox News poll, which also showed Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff ahead of his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
Ossoff, vying for a second term, led Collins 56%-43%.
Collins defeated Derek Dooley, the son of the late University of Georgia football coaching legend Vince Dooley and himself the former head coach of the University of Tennessee, taking 55% of the vote to Dooley’s 44%, according to the results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
Ossoff did not have a primary opponent. On Thursday, he challenged Collins to three televised debates.
“Collins is pro-cutting your health care, pro-tariffs, and pro-war, and I challenge him to three televised debates where he can try to defend his corruption while I present my vision for Georgia’s future,” Ossoff said in a statement.
Collins answered Ossoff’s challenge in a social media post.
“I’m glad you’ll be joining me on the debate stage to answer for sending stimulus checks to illegal immigrants, forcing girls to compete against men in sports, and supporting massive inflationary spending that drove up costs for every Georgian,” Collins said. “Who knows – maybe you can even use some of daddy’s trust fund cash to make a documentary about it after you’re out of a job in November!”
Bottoms is also challenging Jackson to debates. The poll of 1,052 Georgia voters also shows Bottoms leading with 52% to Jackson’s 42%.
Jackson has not responded to Bottoms’ call for debates.
“Georgians deserve to hear directly from Rick Jackson about how his profits have been boosted by their tax dollars while their healthcare costs have soared and rural hospitals have closed,” said TaNisha Cameron, Keisha for Governor campaign spokesperson. “Keisha is ready to show Georgians the clear difference in this race on the debate stage. While she will bring down costs, expand Medicaid, and invest in Georgians’ education, Rick Jackson will sell Georgians out to line his own pockets.”
As in his primary campaign, Jackson is relying heavily on social media and television ads. Jackson is attacking Bottoms’ record as Atlanta mayor and tying her to another mayor, Zohran Mamdani of New York. Mamdani asked New Yorkers to set their thermostat to 78 degrees during a heat wave that is covering the East Coast.
“If Mamdani does it in New York, you can bet Keisha would do it in Georgia,” Jackson said in a social media post on Thursday. “When I’m governor, we aren’t going to force Georgians to set their A/C to 78 in the middle of a heat wave.”