Originally posted by MCO Group on July 10, 2026

01. General Election: Jackson vs. Bottoms

Rick Jackson's win over Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the GOP gubernatorial primary runoff formally locks in a Jackson-vs.-Keisha Lance Bottoms general election. Jackson — the wealthy founder of Alpharetta-based Jackson Healthcare — carried the runoff with roughly 53% despite President Trump and Governor Brian Kemp's endorsement of Jones, an outcome that echoed the Collins-over-Dooley result on the Senate side and reinforced that Trump's imprimatur is no longer dispositive in a Georgia GOP primary. For the first time since 2002, Georgia has an open gubernatorial seat where a Democrat is genuinely competitive on Day 1 of the general.

02. Fox News Poll Frames Race as True Toss-Up

A Fox News survey released just before the holiday and dominating political conversation this week shows Bottoms and Jackson inside the margin of error, tracking the Ballotpedia "toss-up" rating issued at the end of June. Bottoms benefits from unusually high name ID and early organizational advantages, but analysts continue to flag Trump's Georgia approval and the state's Republican structural lean as the ceiling on her path.

Client implication: Independent expenditure activity in metro Atlanta media markets will accelerate. Clients with exposure to healthcare, Medicaid expansion, and cost-of-living policy should brief their principals now — both nominees are leaning into affordability messaging.

03. Special Session QR-Code Ballot Fix Unraveling

A late amendment to the elections bill passed in the June special session — intended to defuse the QR-code ballot crisis before November — is drawing fresh scrutiny this week. GPB's July 6 reporting details how the last-minute change could meaningfully shift how votes are cast and counted, and voting-rights groups and county election directors are signaling that further guidance from the Secretary of State's office will be needed before absentee ballots go out.

04. No Movement on Local Homestead Property-Tax Relief

The special session adjourned without placing local homestead exemption referendums on the November ballot — a significant defeat for county-level relief advocates and a live issue this week as local governments finalize FY27 millage rates. WABE's coverage frames this as an unresolved fault line between the Governor's office, House leadership, and county commissions heading into the 2027 session.

05. Kemp’s Post-Session Posture: Economic Development & Legacy-Building

With the special session in the rearview and his preferred successor (Jones) out of the race, Governor Kemp is leaning into economic development announcements — Yancey Engineered Solutions' 300-job Crisp County project is the most recent example — and quietly recalibrating his political operation. His pre-runoff endorsement of Jones did not carry the day, and this week the political class is watching whether, and how enthusiastically, he engages Jackson in the general.

What We’re Watching

• Secretary of State guidance on QR-code implementation
  
• Bottoms' positions on healthcare and Medicaid expansion
  
• July revenue numbers (due mid-month) — a soft print reshapes the 2027 budget conversation
  
• House and Senate Study Committee meetings agendas will be posted dealing with issues related to healthcare reform, PBM oversight, access to prescription medications, and local taxation, funding and budgeting
  
• Gov. Kemp is expected to release budget instructions to state agencies for AFY 2027 and FY 2028