For the first time since 2018, Georgia voters will choose a new governor. Gov. Brian Kemp can't run again because of term limits, so the seat is wide open on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The race is between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, and Republican Rick Jackson, the businessman who founded Jackson Healthcare.

Here's where they stand on the issues that hit Georgia families hardest, side by side and in their own words, taken from their campaign plans and their Oct. 6 debate. Columbus Times does not endorse candidates.

Early voting runs Oct. 13 through Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Meet the candidates

Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later worked as a senior adviser in the White House. She's running on what she calls a plan to lower costs for families, fully fund schools and expand health care coverage.

Rick Jackson (R) founded Jackson Healthcare, a medical staffing company, and has never held elected office. He grew up in foster care, an experience his campaign says shaped his run. "Georgia does not need another governor who simply wants the title," he says. "Georgia needs a governor who wants the work."

Taxes and the cost of living

Bottoms:

• Eliminate the state income tax for teachers.
• Give cities and counties the power to eliminate or suspend local sales taxes on groceries and essentials like diapers and baby formula when prices spike.
• Targeted tax relief for veterans and military retirees.
• A plan to lower the cost of driving and a property tax and insurance relief plan.

Jackson:

• "Cut Georgia's income tax in half" during his first term, "with spending discipline, strong revenue safeguards, and protection for the core services families depend on." At the debate, he said he'd do it in his first term "or I won't run again."
• Eliminate the state income tax on tips.
• Eliminate state taxes on energy, so families "see the relief directly in their monthly utility bills."
• Suspend the state gas tax during major price shocks.
• Require a specific notice, a public hearing and a recorded vote before any local government raises property taxes, to "end hidden increases."
• Tax relief for law enforcement officers and veterans.

Schools and education

Bottoms:

• "Fully fund Georgia's schools" and modernize the state's "outdated education funding formula."
• Raise starting teacher pay to $60,000 (from the debate) and eliminate the state income tax for teachers.
• Universal pre-K and universal child care.
• A path to free technical and community college "so every Georgian graduating from high school, and every worker looking to learn a new skill, has the opportunity to train for a good-paying job."
• A focus on literacy, early learning and financial literacy.

Jackson:

• "Every child reading on grade level by the end of third grade," with early help for students who fall behind, and an end to automatically promoting students "who have not met basic literacy standards."
• "Work with the General Assembly to raise teacher pay" and give teachers "consistent discipline policies and the authority to maintain order."
• School choice: "Parents should be free to choose the setting that works for their child: a traditional public school, charter school, private school, or homeschool."
• Freeze tuition, room and board at Georgia's public colleges and technical schools.
• More career counseling, apprenticeships and technical training tied to local jobs.

Health care

Georgia is one of a small number of states that hasn't fully expanded Medicaid, the government health program for people with low incomes. Both candidates want to cover more people. They differ on how.

Bottoms:

• Fully expand Medicaid to cover about 300,000 more Georgians, end the state's "failed Georgia Pathways program" and replace it "with real coverage that actually works for families."
• Stabilize rural hospitals and launch a "Rural Care First Initiative" for EMS, telehealth and labor and delivery care.
• Create a Georgia Rx Savings Board to take on prescription drug costs.
• Invest in mental health and maternal health, and "protect reproductive freedom."

Jackson:

• "Intelligent Medicaid expansion" to close the coverage gap for low-income working adults, using a "Georgia-designed waiver" that pairs coverage with work, job training, education, caregiving or recovery for adults who are able to work.
• Take on insurance companies: "Healthcare decisions should be made by patients, families and doctors, not routinely delayed or denied by an insurance company protecting its profit margin."
• Price transparency, so "every Georgian should know what a healthcare service costs before receiving the bill."
• Stabilize rural hospitals, add rural residency slots for doctors, add psychiatric beds, and set a standard that "a parent should not have to wait more than one month to get help for a child in crisis."

Jobs and the economy

Bottoms:

• Make small business "a central focus of state economic policy," with a new Office of Small Business focused on firms with up to 25 employees, plus more small-business loans and grants.
• Help family farmers keep their land and support farmers "harmed by Trump's tariffs and trade chaos."
• Free technical and community college to train workers for good-paying jobs.

Jackson:

• Recruit companies and grow jobs "in every region of Georgia," including rural areas.
• "Microtech centers" to retrain workers quickly when a region loses a major employer.
• Expand apprenticeships, "earn while they learn" programs, and capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Make public assistance "a bridge to independence," connecting people who can work with employers and training.

Housing

Bottoms: A "Georgia Housing Fast Track" to speed up permits, more down payment and renter assistance, and an affordable housing trust fund.

Jackson: End what he calls "the government delay tax on housing" by using technology to speed up permits and inspections with clear deadlines. "Delay is a tax," he says.

Data centers and your power bill

Huge data centers are driving up demand for electricity in Georgia.

Bottoms: Georgia "needs to slow down and reassess the rapid expansion of data centers so families are not left with higher utility bills." At the debate, she called for "a pause on new construction."

Jackson: "No new data center should be approved unless the local community supports it, the project provides real local benefits, it does not increase local utility costs, and it meets strict environmental standards."

Public safety

Bottoms: More state help for local police through the GBI and crime labs, violence-reduction programs, universal background checks and a "red flag" law, and more treatment and re-entry programs.

Jackson: "Give law-enforcement officers clear support, high standards and the right resources," end crime-lab backlogs, and create a statewide division with "one overriding mission: end child sex trafficking in Georgia."

Where they agree

For all their differences, the two candidates share more goals than you might expect:

• Raise teacher pay.
• Cover more Georgians through some form of Medicaid expansion.
• Save rural hospitals.
• Speed up housing permits to bring costs down.
• Make sure data centers don't raise families' power bills.
• Tax relief for veterans.
• Clear crime-lab backlogs.

The biggest differences are on income taxes (Jackson wants to cut them in half for everyone; Bottoms targets relief to teachers, veterans and grocery and driving costs), how far to expand Medicaid, and school choice. Bottoms also campaigns on restoring abortion rights, universal background checks and a "red flag" gun law; Jackson's written plan doesn't address those issues.

Before you vote

• See your sample ballot: mvp.sos.ga.gov
• Early voting: Oct. 13-30. Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Bring a photo ID. A Georgia driver's license works even if it's expired.

Read our guide to every race on Georgia's ballot: Georgia's Nov. 3 Ballot, Explained: Every Statewide Race in Plain English.

Columbus Times does not endorse candidates. Positions and quotes come from each candidate's campaign plan and the Oct. 6 debate.