The Atlanta Journal-Constitution treated the self-made billionaire health care entrepreneur Rick Jackson’s unexpected announcement that he is running for Georgia governor with a blunt but insightful opening: “Rick Jackson’s surprise bid for Georgia governor has turned the contest into a cash arms race. And the two front-runners are loading up.”
Georgia’s gubernatorial race is now in the front ranks of the elections where the outcome is less about a contest of ideas and policies than a about who has the most money. Billionaires are buying America, and its future, one election at a time. Georgia voters now have a chance to say “no” to establishing the reign of billionaires.
MORE NEWS ON JACKSON'S BID
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 16, 2026
U.S. Department of Justice wants voter registration data, and lawmakers are pressuring the secretary of state to release it unredacted.
By (GA Secretary of State) Brad Raffensberger – For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(Excerpts)
- A group of state senators introduced a resolution demanding the Secretary of State’s Office release the Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers of every registered Georgia voter to the U.S. Department of Justice and to unspecified, unnamed third-party organizations and corporations.
- Releasing Georgians’ most sensitive personal information to unknown entities is not only reckless, but also explicitly illegal under Georgia law.
- Intentionally releasing that data would put millions of hardworking Georgians at risk of identity theft, financial loss, and years of personal hardship, all for a political stunt they, voters of our great state, never asked to be part of.
- My response is clear and unequivocal: “No.” And if I’m speaking in my contractor voice, “Hell no.”
"This resolution isn’t about election integrity or clean voter rolls...It’s an obvious attempt to shame, intimidate and smear the Secretary of State’s Office for doing exactly what the law requires and what hardworking Georgians expect from their elected officials."
EVEN MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE'S DEFECTION FAILS TO SWAY THEM!
The Trump-led Republican campaign to destroy American democracy has had frightening success, and continues to gain strength, bolstered by Georgia Republicans Gov. Brian Kemp, gubernatorial candidates Brad Raffsenberger & Burt Jones; Rep. Barry Loudermilk and the entire GA U.S. GOP Congressional delegation. They have all adopted tactics out of the fascist playbook, most notably lying and character assassination.
From the Atlanta-Journal Constitution:
- A Republican activist recently tapped as a “special adviser” to Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon to help the party leverage technology to reach new voters has a history of xenophobic and hateful social media posts, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review.
- Brad Barnes, who describes himself online as a “national populist,” has amplified white nationalist social media messages claiming “ethnonationalism is the social norm” and made an antisemitic remark mocking Mexico’s Jewish president in a now-deleted post.
- He has also shared posts stating that “culture is the social expression of genetics,” echoing a scientifically debunked ideology promulgated for decades by white supremacists that racial groups were genetically predisposed to certain behaviors.
- He also has promoted a call for “remigration” of the United States, a term widely used in far-right circles as a euphemism for large-scale deportation or repatriation of immigrants.
IndieDems Comment: Were you under the opinion that the Georgia Republican Party is in the moderate position?
From the AJC September 18, 2025:
Medicaid cuts ahead prompt Lavonia hospital to shutter childbirth unit
Excerpts:
A hospital in rural Georgia is closing its labor and delivery unit, saying its precarious finances could not weather further funding cuts called for in President Trump’s new tax and spending law.
- Like many rural hospitals in Georgia, officials at St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia said they face challenges recruiting physicians to the area and are contending with an aging population and fewer young women having babies.
- “We are feeling very desperate and destitute,” said Kristy Wynn, who works at the Hart Life Pregnancy Care Center in nearby Hartwell, a city of about 4,500 near the South Carolina border.
- “Our fear is there’s going to be highway deliveries. There’s going to be women on the side of the road having babies and no prenatal care.”
Republicans point out their provision in the bill of $50 billion for investment in rural health care, but who gets the money is still to be determined—and it’s expected to offset only about one-third of the cuts to rural health elsewhere in the bill. The new funding is also temporary and not limited to just hospitals.
“Many struggling hospitals already teetering on the edge have seen the federal cuts as a death knell. A clinic in rural Nebraska, scheduled to shutter Sept. 30, was the first health facility to announce it was closing as a result of the law.”