Bottoms and Jackson clash over Trump and data centers at Georgia

Georgia gubernatorial candidates Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson hit the debate stage Tuesday night, sparring over closeness to President Donald Trump, data centers, and election security in the Peach State.

The event on Tuesday night was a town hall-style debate where Bottoms and Jackson faced questions directly from Georgia voters. It was the only debate in which both candidates will participate before voters head to the polls Nov. 3.

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For most of the debate, the two candidates offered up their positions and moved on, but some areas saw more spirited discussion.

Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, was quick to brand Jackson as aligned with Trump during her opening remarks. The Democrat said she would “make sure we are protected from the harmful policies of Donald Trump,” before contrasting herself with Jackson.

“What we do in this moment will echo through history,” she said. “So let’s choose hope over fear, progress over division, and come together to build a better Georgia for everyone. While my opponent is running to enrich himself and be Trump’s favorite governor, I want to be yours, Georgia.”

Jackson didn’t address Bottoms’s opening remarks, but his alignment with the president emerged later in the debate when Bottoms accused him of being “Trump with a Southern tone.” Bottoms said she would “stand up to Donald Trump when necessary” and painted her opponent as being aligned with Trump on almost every front.

Jackson, however, made clear he doesn’t belong to Trump and touted his ability to work with Democrats and Republicans.

“I don’t owe anybody anything,” Jackson said. “Nobody’s ever told me what to do. My No. 1 priority is Georgians. It’s you, and I will stand up to anybody, just like Brian Kemp has done.”

The president entered the conversation again during a portion of the debate dedicated to election security. Georgia has been at the center of Trump’s election fraud claims, and the president said he plans to send 1,000 election monitors from the Department of Justice to the polls in the midterm elections.

A Georgia voter asked the candidates their opinions on Trump’s plans to ensure election security. Bottoms went first, saying she is “deeply concerned” about Trump’s rhetoric around elections.

Jackson said he “understands” the concerns from voters about election security but was steadfast in backing Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R-GA) efforts to ensure it is “easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

But the discussion took a turn when Bottoms alleged Jackson has plans to send in tougher enforcement than the DOJ election monitors.

“My opponent has said that the National Guard will be called in during this election,” Bottoms said.

The remark Bottoms is referring to occurred during a campaign event in August during which Jackson was asked about sending federal troops to monitor elections. Jackson said, “We’ll get National Guard — Gov. Kemp is going to watch it for us,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Republican disputed that he wanted to send the Guard to the polls during the debate.

“I’ve never suggested that we have the National Guard to come in on this election. Period. That’s just a complete falsehood,” he said before adding that he wants to be a “uniter” in Georgia.

“He said that the National Guard would be called in. You all can pull the tape on that,” she said.

Another area of heated division emerged on the topic of data centers, with Bottoms alleging Jackson can’t be trusted on data center policy because the healthcare billionaire has invested in the controversial data campuses.

Bottoms alleged Jackson has invested in companies looking to build data centers across the country and called for a moratorium. She claimed Jackson was behind a data center in Bowie, Texas, that is moving forward despite community opposition. Jackson disputed Bottoms’s accusation and said she approved data centers while leading Atlanta. He said he would only approve data centers if communities approve them, are compensated, and the centers meet Environmental Protection Agency standards.

“I haven’t invested in four data centers,” Jackson said. “I don’t own a data center, but what has happened under the mayor? The mayor has approved three data centers in Atlanta, no restrictions, and gave away $400 million of tax benefits.”

Bottoms denied Jackson’s claim but acknowledged a data center was built at Georgia Tech, which she said “was a part of a much larger footprint.”

The race to succeed term-limited Kemp is rated as a “toss-up” by Cook Political Report. Recent polls show Jackson maintaining a slim lead over Bottoms, making swaying undecided voters crucial for winning in November.