Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Monday she will participate in six televised debates ahead of the November election, as the campaigns of Bottoms and Republican nominee Rick Johnson continue to clash over when the two will appear on stage.
While Bottoms had initially not confirmed when she would debate Jackson, her team announced on X that she has agreed to participate in six debates, including events in Macon, Savannah, and Atlanta.
Jackson’s campaign has agreed to participate in an Oct. 6 debate hosted in Atlanta, but has yet to confirm whether Jackson will attend the additional five debates on Bottoms’ schedule.
The announced debate schedule comes as both candidates seek to define the race heading into the final eight weeks before Election Day, with each campaign accusing the other of avoiding speaking to voters.
“Only the flailing campaign of a failed politician would spend more than six weeks ducking a debate, then suddenly demand six of them,” said Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for the Rick Jackson campaign. “The fact is Keisha Lance Bottoms has become desperate and can’t talk her way out of what she did to Atlanta.”
The six debates Bottoms has agreed to participate in are scheduled for Sept. 17 in Macon, Sept. 22 in Atlanta, Oct. 6 in Atlanta, Oct. 12 in Atlanta, and Oct. 13 in Savannah. Bottoms has also agreed to a debate hosted by CNN, although a date has not yet been announced.
Currently, the latest poll from InsiderAdvantage puts the two candidates almost equal, with Bottoms at 46.2% support and Jackson at 46.3% support. With the race essentially tied, these upcoming debates gives both candidates the opportunity to sway undecided voters.
