Published 9:15 am Friday, October 23, 2026 VALDOSTA — Gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson brought his campaign to Valdosta for a rally Thursday evening at the Rainwater Conference Center. With early voting already taking place and Election Day less than two weeks away, he drew a crowd of more than 100 people. Jackson, running as a Republican against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, brought two messages. One, he’s prepared to carry on the legacy of current Gov. Brian Kemp, and two, Bottoms’ history as mayor of Atlanta makes her unqualified to be governor. The second of those messages is familiar to anyone who’s encountered Jackson’s advertising. The ads have pounded Bottoms’ response to the Atlanta riots of 2020 and crime in general. For background: Cities throughout America experienced spikes in crime during the Covid-19 pandemic, but Atlanta was among the worst with a 59% increase in homicides in 2020 over the previous year. On May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill and possessing drugs. Protests started around the country. The protest in Atlanta turned into a riot. At the time, some people of both parties praised Bottoms’ poise as she urged the protesters to go home. But just days later, Atlanta police shot and killed a black man, Rayshard Brooks, in a Wendy’s parking lot. Protesters burned the restaurant to the ground the next day. The district attorney announced charges against…
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