The $194 million that Republican Rick Jackson invested in his bid to become Georgia’s next governor was far beyond spending by any corporation, party committee, dark money group or independent committee for funding Georgia’s 2026 election. But it didn’t bring victory.
Jackson’s committee reported spending about $213 million for his campaign, according to filings to Georgia’s State Ethics Commission. In addition to his personal funds, his campaign received $22 million from the Republican Governors’ Association. Those funds came via a special state “leadership committee” through which candidates for the highest state offices can collect unlimited money. That was also the channel for another $250,000 in donations from a private prison firm, a chemical company and rich individuals.
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Unofficial results from last week’s election showed Keisha Lance Bottoms beating Jackson 54% to 45.6% — despite Bottoms’ campaign spending less than a tenth than the health care executive did.
Bottoms’ campaign reported spending about $11 million between January and October; and she also benefited from a leadership committee. In the last weeks of the election, the Democratic Governors Association donated $18 million there, joined by rich individuals like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker.
Those numbers capture most campaign spending for state offices in Georgia, though not all. Dark money groups spent about $10 million in Georgia, notably on behalf of Republican Josh Tolbert, who ran for the utility regulation board. Tolbert, however, also lost.
Meanwhile, in the race for U.S. senator, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins spent about $10 million in his bid for higher office, according to campaign reports. He was beaten by the incumbent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, who spent 10 times as much, reports show.
By comparison, the race for Georgia’s First Congressional District was almost cheap. Winning Republican Jim Kingston reported spending about $2.1 million on his successful bid Democrat Amanda Hollowell spent about $214,000.
