Keisha Lance Bottoms is in for a very different race against Rick Jackson

Now Democrats are preparing for a general election unlike any they once expected. Instead of facing a veteran Republican officeholder, they’ll confront a self-funded outsider with seemingly bottomless resources whose tough upbringing was central to his victory.

The result is a titanic matchup between a former Atlanta mayor trying to become Georgia’s first Democratic governor in a generation against a political outsider who spent a fortune bulldozing his own party’s establishment.

Jackson, 71, opened his town halls around the state by leaning on his biography: growing up with an alcoholic mother, running away from home and living in five foster homes before finding Christianity and founding a business empire that would make him a billionaire.

That story of a self-made man bolstered the credentials of a candidate with extraordinary wealth — he showed up to one primary event with both a private jet and a private helicopter — and who has promised to be Trump’s “favorite governor.”

Bottoms, 56, has already previewed how she plans to become the first Democrat elected governor since Roy Barnes in 1998.

She has tag-teamed with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff on the campaign trail, taking advantage of the head start to portray a unity ticket. She aired ads during the runoff featuring Jackson and Jones as pro-Trump sycophants.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

And on Wednesday, she’s headed to a shuttered hospital in rural Commerce to highlight her plans to expand Medicaid and bolster struggling healthcare facilities, driving a wedge between her policies and longstanding GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion.

“Georgians deserve a governor who is focused on ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive and who will fight for them when Donald Trump’s reckless policies hurt Georgia — that’s what I will do as governor,” Bottoms said. “I will get to work to lower costs, expand Medicaid and invest in Georgians’ education.”

The challenge for Democrats is that Jackson doesn’t fit neatly into the mold of a traditional Georgia Republican.

Unlike Jones, he has never held elected office. He can campaign as both a billionaire executive and a child of poverty. And while he embraces Trump, he built his runoff victory by defeating candidates backed by both the president and much of Georgia’s Republican establishment.

That biography gives him a different way to talk about issues that often favor Democrats. Jackson frequently speaks about foster care, poverty and struggling families, arguing that his own life story proves conservative policies create opportunity.

Just as important is money. Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own fortune in the Republican primary and repeatedly signaled he is willing to spend whatever it takes.

It also let him blanket voters with scattershot ads, including a music video generated by artificial intelligence, newspaper-sized campaign mailings and softer spots featuring his grandkids advising him to ditch the tough-guy persona.

Democrats acknowledge that Jackson changes the race. Instead of relying on outside groups and party committees, they could face a nominee capable of single-handedly financing a statewide campaign at a scale rarely seen in Georgia politics.

Jackson has already made clear he’ll frame the November contest as a referendum on Bottoms’ tenure as Atlanta’s mayor and her role as adviser to former President Joe Biden.

He has mocked her decision not to seek a second term and attacked her handling of unrest during the pandemic-era protests and a rise in violent crime that became a defining issue of her administration.

And he used his campaign victory speech Tuesday to also extend a fig leaf to independents and Democrats “who are tired of high prices, rising costs and feel like they can’t keep up.”

But Democrats believe they have plenty of ammunition of their own. A Democratic Governors Association memo circulated before Tuesday’s runoff argued that whichever Republican emerged victorious would carry significant political baggage into the general election.

“During this primary, Republicans did our work for us by making the case against each other,” the memo said.

Democrats highlighted attacks from Jones and his allies portraying Jackson as a billionaire who enriched himself through more than $1 billion in government contracts and put personal interests ahead of Georgia voters.

Veteran Democratic strategist Fred Hicks said some of Jackson’s campaign ads, including one threatening immigrants in the country illegally, create a “big opening” for Democrats.

“Those extremely negative campaign ads have made Democrats and Republicans very uncomfortable,” he said, “just as Bottoms will have to answer questions about her leadership.”