Georgia governor candidates spar over the economy and Trump in lone debate

Reported by NBC News. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson clashed Tuesday night during their only scheduled debate of this fall’s race for governor in Georgia, taking aim at each other on economic issues, data centers and President Donald Trump.

Public polls show Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and a former Biden administration official, and Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, locked in a close race four weeks out from Election Day, with early voting kicking off next week.

The hourlong, town-hall-style debate was largely civil, featuring live and taped questions from voters. Jackson frequently ripped his opponent over her record as mayor, while Bottoms attacked his praise of Trump.

“My opponent has said he wants to be Trump’s favorite governor. He wants to be Trump with a Southern tone. He said there’s not a single policy that he disagrees with Trump on,” Bottoms said in response to a question about the Trump administration’s cuts to federal funding.

“I will stand up to Donald Trump when necessary. I’m not running to be his favorite governor,” she continued.

Jackson responded, “I don’t owe anybody anything,” and said, “Nobody’s ever told me what to do.”