Bottoms and Jackson face off in only confirmed Georgia debate

Driving the news: The one-hour debate will air live at 8pm and will follow a modified town hall format with vetted undecided Georgia voters questioning the candidates. WANF anchor and "On the Record" host Rick Folbaum will moderate.

• The debate will be held at Assembly Studios, a film and TV production complex off I-285 in Doraville that's owned by Gray Media, WANF's parent company.

State of play: Recent polls show the candidates separated by a few percentage points within the surveys' margins of error.

By the numbers: Jackson, who spent $108 million of his own money to win his surprise primary bid, raised $13 million during the general election period, according to an AJC analysis of July 31 campaign disclosures. He had roughly $11 million on hand.

• Former Atlanta Mayor Bottoms, on the other hand, raised roughly $5.6 million and had $1.3 million cash on hand.

Zoom out: Jackson, whose campaign said he is focusing on direct voter outreach, declined to participate in 11 Alive's Sept. 22 debate and the Oct. 12 Atlanta Press Club debate.

What we're expecting: Submitted questions will cover the economy, health care, education, housing and public safety, Gray said, and data centers could come up.

• Bottoms will likely target her opponent's business interests and ties to President Trump, while Jackson has repeatedly targeted Bottoms' record as Atlanta mayor.

What's next: The debate will air on WANF and Gray stations across the state and stream through the station's apps.

• WANF's pre-debate coverage starts at 7:30pm, with analysis following at 9pm. Early voting starts Oct. 13.