Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for governor of Georgia, supports the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which KFF estimates will cut federal Medicaid spending in rural Georgia by $1.74 billion over ten years, far more than the $219 million the state's first-year rural health award brings in. His campaign told Fox News on April 27, 2026 that he supports the bill, "Period."
Jackson also praised the president's tariffs and said he completely supports the Iran war, during which Georgia diesel climbed to $5.64 a gallon by May 2026. Asked at a Canton farm event in September 2026 whether he backs the tariffs squeezing farm margins, he declined to criticize the federal government, Atlanta News First reported.
Rick Jackson's Statements on Rural Health Care, Tariffs and Farm Costs
- Jackson Backs the Law That Cuts $1.74 Billion From Rural Georgia Medicaid. Rick Jackson's campaign spokesman, Mike Schrimpf, told Fox News Digital on April 27, 2026: "Rick supports the Big Beautiful Bill. Period." By KFF's estimate the law takes $1.74 billion in federal Medicaid money out of rural Georgia over a decade, while the law's rural health fund gave Georgia $219 million for its first year. KFF says the rural fund will not make up for the Medicaid reductions. In rural areas Medicaid pays for close to half of births and about one in five hospital stays, according to KFF, so less Medicaid money means fewer services close to home for farm families.
- Jackson Said "So I Support" the President's Tariffs, Which Raise Costs Under Current Law. Fox News reported on April 27, 2026 that Rick Jackson, praising the president's tariff policies, said in March: "Don't want somebody to take advantage of us in a business transaction. That's what he's trying to do. So I support." The Yale Budget Lab put the average statutory tariff rate at 11.0 percent as of August 2026, a tax collected on imported goods, including the machinery, parts and supplies farms buy from abroad.
- Jackson Backed the Iran War as a Blockade in the Strait of Hormuz Left Farmers Short of Fertilizer. At a LaGrange chamber event reported on March 31, 2026, Rick Jackson said: "I completely support what he's doing in Iran." About 30 percent of the world's fertilizer exports move through the Strait of Hormuz, which has stayed largely closed since the war began, according to Civil Eats. Georgia diesel rose from $3 a gallon in January 2026 to $5.64 on May 4, 2026, the Georgia Farm Bureau reported, and with current diesel and commodity prices entered, the University of Georgia's 2026 crop budget tool projects that a typical irrigated Georgia farm will lose $28,178 this year. A Farm Bureau survey found only 19 percent of Southern farmers had secured the fertilizer they needed, WABE reported.
- Jackson Declined to Criticize the Tariffs Squeezing Georgia Farmers When Asked, in September 2026. Asked at a Canton farm event on September 24, 2026 whether he supports the federal tariffs squeezing farm margins, Rick Jackson declined to criticize Washington, Atlanta News First reported, and he said: "I'm not going to be blaming the federal government for everything. I never grew up blaming other people and becoming a victim." The station reported that Georgia's largest industry was bracing for harvest losses, with diesel above $6.30 a gallon and tariffs cutting into what farmers earn.
What the Policies Rick Jackson Supports Mean for Georgia Farms and Rural Hospitals
- 22 rural Georgia hospitals are at risk of closing. A Chartis Center for Rural Health analysis found 22 of Georgia's rural hospitals, nearly a third of those still open, at risk of shutting down, and the Georgia Hospital Association says 18 Georgia hospitals have closed since 2013, WRDW reported.
- The rural fund's latest money pays for telehealth and training, not for operating losses. The latest $93 million from the rural health fund is being spread across 87 rural Georgia hospitals to pay for telehealth, staff training and equipment, WRDW reported, and WABE reported that the fund's grants "cannot be used to stabilize hospitals that are struggling with basic operating deficits."
Frequently Asked Questions About Rick Jackson on Agriculture and rural communities
What is Rick Jackson's record on agriculture and rural Georgia under Trump?
Rick Jackson supports the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts federal Medicaid spending in rural Georgia by an estimated $1.74 billion over ten years, and he has praised the president's tariffs and spoken in support of the war with Iran. Georgia diesel reached $5.64 a gallon by May 2026, and in September 2026 he declined to criticize the tariffs when asked at a farm event, Atlanta News First reported.
What has Rick Jackson said about tariffs and Georgia farmers?
Rick Jackson ended his March 2026 remarks praising the tariffs with "So I support," Fox News reported, and six months later, at a Canton farm event, he said he would not blame Washington for farmers' troubles, Atlanta News First reported. At that point, rising fertilizer prices were adding an estimated $20 an acre to Georgia harvest costs, the station reported.
Will rural Georgia hospitals lose money under the law Rick Jackson supports?
Yes. The law Rick Jackson supports reduces federal Medicaid money flowing to rural Georgia by about $1.74 billion over ten years by KFF's estimate, and KFF says the new rural health fund does not offset that loss; 22 rural hospitals in the state are already at risk of closing.
Last updated: 2026-10-26