Bottoms' Atlanta crime record disqualifies her as Georgia governor; Rick Jackson is the better choice
Source: "Keisha Lance Bottoms' Atlanta crime record slammed in governor race | Fox News." October 29, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
The author says Keisha Lance Bottoms let crime spiral out of control as Atlanta's mayor and then blamed others, so she shouldn't be trusted to run Georgia. He argues Rick Jackson, who grew up poor and built a huge company, understands everyday Georgians and has a solid plan to fight crime.
Conclusion
Georgians should vote for Republican Rick Jackson rather than Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor, because Bottoms failed on public safety as Atlanta's mayor and Jackson has the lived experience and plan to make Georgia safer.
Premises
- During Bottoms' tenure as mayor, Atlanta's homicides rose from 99 in 2019 to 157 in 2020 (a two-decade high), shootings rose sharply, and the trend continued into 2021.
- More than 200 officers left the Atlanta Police Department in 2020, and Bottoms did not support the police or protect vulnerable residents.
- Bottoms responded to the crime surge by blaming the pandemic, gun laws, and Gov. Kemp rather than taking responsibility, and Buckhead residents tried to secede from the city in response.
- A candidate who has already been tested by a crime crisis and failed should not be trusted with statewide responsibility for public safety.
- Rick Jackson grew up in public housing and foster care and built a $3B healthcare staffing company, giving him lived experience of struggling communities that Bottoms lacks.
- Jackson's public safety plan (more crime labs, a statewide anti-child-trafficking law enforcement division, tax relief for police and veterans) addresses what crime victims and their families ask for.
Assumptions
- The rise in Atlanta crime in 2020-2021 is attributable primarily to Bottoms' leadership rather than to national trends such as the pandemic and the national homicide surge.
- Performance as mayor of a city predicts performance as governor of a state.
- Lived experience of poverty and business success translates into better governance and public safety policy.
- Jackson's pledged policies would be effective and implementable if he were elected.
- Public safety is the decisive issue for voters in the governor's race.
- Bottoms' responses (blaming the pandemic, gun laws, and Kemp) were illegitimate deflections rather than partially valid explanations.