Derrick Jackson announces 2026 Georgia governor’s run

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Another metro Atlanta lawmaker is seeking to become Georgia’s next governor.

On Friday, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, who represents a Fayette County district that includes the city of Tyrone, announced his bid to become the state’s 84th chief executive.

“My wife Mia and I are standing here to announce my candidacy to become the next governor of Georgia,” Jackson said.

Jackson pointed to his 42 years of leadership, including 22 years in the military, a decade in corporate America and nearly 10 years as a state lawmaker.

“I’m going to be the one to give them a 42-year resume that delivers on and has the results that are going to convince them when they go to the ballot box to press Derrick Jackson,” he said.

If elected, Jackson said he would raise the minimum wage to $20, eliminate income taxes for nurses, teachers and retired military veterans, and repeal Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, commonly known as the “heartbeat bill.”

“I believe my four daughters should have bodily autonomy just like my three sons have,” he said.

Jackson will join state Sen. Jason Esteves, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and local businessman and pastor Olu Brown as Democrats who hope to wrest the governor’s mansion from GOP control for the first time in the 21st century.

Jackson’s campaign cites his 22 years of military service, 10-year career in the private sector and his five terms in the state House as his qualifications.

All of the Democrats so far who have announced their gubernatorial candidacies would become Georgia’s first Black governor, while Bottoms would also become the nation’s first Black female governor in history. If elected, Bottoms would also become the first ex-Atlanta mayor to win the governorship.

Gov. Brian Kemp has been in office for two terms and can’t seek a third, per state law — meaning Georgia’s 2026 gubernatorial race is wide open.

So far, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is the only announced GOP candidate in the race.

Esteves picked up the endorsements of 18 Atlanta political leaders: four Atlanta city councilmembers, four metro Atlanta state senators and four state representatives, five members of the Atlanta school board and a DeKalb County commissioner.

The endorsements came despite Bottoms’ tenure as Atlanta’s 60th mayor.

On the Republican side, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — an unindicted co-conspirator in the now-stalled election interference case against President Donald Trump in Fulton County — and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have been rumored to be potential candidates.

Michael Thurmond, a former DeKalb County CEO, state lawmaker and Georgia labor commissioner, has also been rumored to be considering a gubernatorial run.

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