The wide-open race for governor of Georgia in the next election will have Democrats assailing Republicans on access to health care and other quality of life issues, as a fourth liberal partisan enters the race.

State Rep. Derrick Jackson, a retired naval officer with a background in corporate marketing, cited hospital closures and Georgia’s refusal to expand Medicaid as top issues in an interview Wednesday, as the Democrat from Tyrone explained why he is contesting a fellow lawmaker, state Sen. Jason Esteves of Atlanta; former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Pastor Olu Brown in the Democratic primary next year.

Jackson echoed other critics of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s alternative to Medicaid expansion. The Pathways to Coverage, rolled out in 2023, had enrolled about 6,500 Georgians by early this year despite an estimated 200,000 without health insurance. To qualify, adults must work, go to school, volunteer or do other qualifying activities for 80 hours a month.

“He’s just been a disaster, in my humble opinion, around health care,” Jackson said, citing a shortage of doctors, especially in rural Georgia.

Bottoms and Esteves also cited health care as a top priority when they announced their plans to run for governor earlier this year.

State Attorney General Chris Carr was the first candidate to enter the race. The Republican is expected to see a challenge from Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has been piling money into his own campaign fund.

Carr cited jobs as a top priority late last year, when he announced his plan to run for the state’s highest office. He also focused on combating crime and “the left’s failed immigration policies.”

Jackson, who served 22 years in the U.S. Navy, called President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration “kidnapping” and said it is an affront to core American principles and the U.S. Constitution.

“You can’t just abduct a citizen … and then you just put them on a plane, and they end up in El Salvador or Venezuela or wherever else,” he said.

Another reason he gave for running: to raise the minimum wage and help more people cope with the rising cost of food, clothes and housing.

Jackson said his seven deployments and four combat missions instilled leadership skills that make him an ideal candidate for governor, especially when paired with his nine years of legislative experience.

He said he will be a more formidable candidate after learning from his unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor in 2022. Jackson finished sixth with 60,706 votes, less than 9% of the total, in a crowded primary against eight other Democrats.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.