Republican businessman Rick Jackson leads former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms 48% to 45% among likely Georgia voters, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted September 14. Another 7% of respondents remained undecided.

The poll surveyed 1,019 likely Georgia voters and comes as the candidates continue their campaigns toward the November 3 general election. The results provide one snapshot of a contest in which recent polling has also shown the candidates separated by only a few percentage points.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited after two terms, creating an open race that both parties view as winnable. Democrats have not won the governorship since 1998. Data center development has become a prominent issue in the race. Bottoms has called for a statewide pause on new data center construction, arguing that Georgia needs to assess potential effects on electricity costs, utilities and local communities before allowing additional projects to move forward. Jackson has opposed a blanket statewide pause and has instead backed giving local governments greater authority over whether data centers are built in their communities.

The candidates have also clashed over their own connections to the industry. Jackson has a financial stake in a data center project in Texas. Meanwhile, Bottoms has faced scrutiny over her role as Atlanta mayor and chair of Invest Atlanta when the city advanced financing for a data center at the Coda development at Georgia Tech’s Technology Square. The facility was substantially smaller than the large hyperscale projects now being proposed across Georgia.

Jackson has argued that local communities should have the final say on whether they want data centers, while Bottoms has maintained that a temporary statewide pause is needed to gather more information about the industry's impact.

The Rasmussen results reflect the views of likely voters surveyed on September 14 and can change as the campaign continues. Poll results can also vary based on methodology, timing, and the population surveyed.

Georgia remains one of the most closely watched battleground states in the 2026 midterms, with both parties pouring resources into the open gubernatorial contest and the competitive U.S. Senate race. Donald Trump narrowly won the state in 2024 following Democrat gains in 2022, making it a high-stakes prize in November for both parties.