Georgia primary season is a month away, and the race for the top of the ticket is fierce.

Voters will be deciding the Democratic and Republican candidate for governor on May 19, and they will have to choose from a crowded field.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta, leads the polls for Democrats among seven potential candidates.

On the other side of the ballot, however, it’s unclear if current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones or healthcare executive Rick Jackson will come out on top for the Republicans.

Jones and Jackson have spent much of the time since Jackson’s late entry into the race going after one another in ads and on social media. Jones has the Trump endorsement, but both candidates have aligned themselves closely with the MAGA movement and Georgia’s conservative base.

Jackson one of top ad spenders in the country

In analysis published by AdImpact, Rick Jackson is the leading Republican for ad spending across the nation, and is one of this election cycle’s top ad spenders.

Jackson has spent $47 million on his ad campaign, according to the report, contributing to the 2026 primaries being one of the most expensive gubernatorial primaries on record.

Georgia gubernatorial candidates have spent $100.5 million across the race, according to AdImpact. Of that, Republicans have spent $99.2 million while Democrats have only spent $1.2 million on ads.

Nationally, Jackson is behind Tom Steyer (running for governor of California), the Yes on 50: The Elections Rigging Response Act, and Abigail Spanberger (Governor of Virginia).

Jackson is just ahead of conservative group One Nation and the Greater Garden State in ad spending.

Is ad spending paying off?

Jackson may be far outspending his Republican rivals in the primary, but he will still have a fight on his hands come May 19.

Polling from the New York Times, which aggregates multiple political polls from multiple sources, finds Jackson leading by anywhere from 8 to 15 points in some polls, while Jones leads by anywhere from 7 to 10 points in others.

The most recent published polls date to March, meaning these leads could have changed in the weeks since as the race heats up.

Jackson not only takes on Jones with his political machine, but he has turned his attention to Keisha Lance Bottoms, his likely opponent in the midterm race in November.

He has also made it a point to acknowledge that most of the spending, if not all, is coming from his own pocket and not outside interest groups, thanks to the success of his multi-billion dollar healthcare company.

“My campaign doesn’t need money from donors or special interests — I don’t owe anybody anything. Period. Every decision I make will be based on if it’s good for regular Georgians, not some donor base,” Jackson said in an April 14 post on X.

Jones, Jackson fight in campaign finance lawsuit

Jones took a legal hit earlier this year when a judge ruled against him and the way he was operating his campaign finances.

Jackson’s campaign filed a lawsuit against Jones alleging his leadership committee, tied to his current role at lieutenant governor, allows him to fundraise unlimited contributions for his campaign while other candidates are limited by campaign finance law. Other candidates had tried to stop the leadership committee previously.

Leadership committees are able to raise money year-round for general election-related activities and for candidates, but the chairperson of the committee must be the governor, lieutenant governor or party nominees for those offices. That means if someone is both holding office and running for office, they can use funds from the leadership committees for their own campaigns.

Jones’ group is able to raise “unlimited contributions,” thereby setting up a “de facto second, super-duper campaign committee for Lieutenant Governor Jones that disadvantages Jackson” and the other candidates, Jackson’s lawsuit alleges.

Opponents of Jackson also argue his campaign financing has some gray area.

Jackson’s companies have been paid nearly $1 billion since 2020 by state agencies through various government contracts, according to a Healthbeat analysis. Jackson Healthcare includes 21 subsidiaries, including some that received $10 million from the Department of Community Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jackson has told news outlets he was planning to spend $50 million of his own fortune to pay for his campaign, but government contracts also contributed to the success and profits of his healthcare companies. Jackson will likely need to separate his businesses from state agencies if he becomes governor to avoid conflicts of interests, Healthbeat reports.

Irene Wright covers midterm races in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.