Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for Georgia governor, announced a policy platform on Wednesday aimed at supporting the state's veterans, proposing a new state office, a round-the-clock support hotline, and fee waivers for military families seeking professional licenses. Speaking in Marietta, Jackson said Georgia should support the people who served the country, framing the plan as a way to cut red tape and expand access to care for former service members.
What Jackson Is Proposing
The centerpiece of Jackson's plan, as reported by Atlanta News First, is a Governor's Office of Military and Veteran Affairs meant to consolidate state services for veterans under one roof. He also wants to establish a 24/7 veteran support hotline and create a veteran-friendly business designation program that would recognize employers who recruit, hire, and support veterans and military families.
Jackson's own campaign materials spell out additional pieces of the plan, including a pledge to “remove barriers to work by waiving professional licensing fees for military families and veterans,” according to his campaign website. The site also states he intends to “deliver real healthcare solutions that will bring access to high-quality health care for our veterans.” Jackson has said he wants to expand the roster of health care providers available to veterans and increase support for organizations that work alongside them.
Jackson argued that a governor is better positioned than an individual veteran to get answers out of federal agencies, saying he plans to communicate directly with officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which is headed by Doug Collins. Notably, Atlanta News First's reporting indicates Jackson did not mention recent cuts to the federal VA in rolling out his plan — an omission his opponent's campaign has seized on.
Bottoms Camp Says Jackson Ducked the Cuts Issue
Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor now running against Jackson, has also announced her own veterans platform, and her campaign wasted no time drawing a contrast. According to Atlanta News First, the Bottoms campaign criticized Jackson for not addressing recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, arguing those cuts have made it harder for Georgia veterans to obtain care they've earned. The campaign said Bottoms would defend the state's veterans' services.
Bottoms has called veteran support a state priority and pledged to make Georgia the best state in the country for veterans, per the same reporting. Her plan includes bolstering suicide-prevention and mental health treatment programs for veterans, expanding programs addressing veteran homelessness, and providing targeted tax relief to military families. She has also proposed strengthening child and spousal care support for military members and veterans, and said an expanded Georgia Medicaid program would let more veterans seek treatment.
On workforce issues, Bottoms wants military experience to count toward civilian licenses and credentials and has proposed expanding reciprocity of skill translation for veterans entering the civilian job market — proposals that overlap in spirit, if not in mechanism, with Jackson's licensing-fee waiver. Bottoms visited veterans in Bryan County in July, home to Fort Stewart and one of Georgia's largest veteran populations, according to the outlet's reporting. Jackson, for his part, has said he agrees with President Donald Trump on most policy issues.
Jackson's Company Has Deep Ties to State Contracts
Jackson is the founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, and his entry into the GOP primary drew scrutiny over his business's financial relationship with the state he's seeking to lead. According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, Jackson's companies have been paid nearly $1 billion by Georgia state agencies since fiscal year 2020. The outlet reported that the Georgia Department of Community Health paid a Jackson Healthcare subsidiary $709 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds starting in 2020 for staffing services.
What Advocates Want to See
Veterans advocates say they're watching for specifics rather than slogans from either campaign. Soyoung Juliano, director of housing and clinical services at the Veterans Empowerment Organization, said candidates should offer practical solutions for safe housing, quality care, employment, and support for veterans. An estimated 600,000 to 700,000 veterans live in Georgia, according to a VA estimate cited in Atlanta News First's reporting.
The reporting describes both campaigns' veterans platforms. The scale of the need is significant nationally: a VA page on post-traumatic stress notes that among the 5.8 million veterans the agency served in fiscal year 2024, about 14% of men and 24% of women were diagnosed with PTSD, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Health Administration has said it intends to intensify efforts to identify and support veterans at risk of homelessness or suicide, per the agency's own statement.
Other states have experimented with similar business-recognition efforts to the one Jackson has proposed. New Hampshire's Veteran Friendly Business Program, launched in 2020 by that state's Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services alongside NH Employment Security, is one such model, according to New Hampshire Veterans Affairs. With both major-party candidates now competing over veteran-focused proposals, the issue looks likely to remain part of the gubernatorial race heading toward the general election.
