Burt Jones, the Trump-endorsed lieutenant governor seeking the Republican nomination for Georgia governor, is trying to differentiate his campaign from rival Rick Jackson by leaning on his legislative record even as the race remains sharply combative. The Associated Press reported that Jones has faced Jackson, a health-care executive whose spending has pushed him into the center of the contest, with attacks that focus on Jackson Healthcare’s dealings with Georgia government.
Jones’ strategy has included actions while he led the state Senate, including pushing a proposal that would have disqualified Jackson’s company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts. The proposal did not advance to the outcome Jones wanted, but the AP described it as part of how Jones is framing the fight against Jackson. At the same time, Jones has run television advertising tied to the topic.
Rick Jackson, for his part, has argued that Jones’ work in the legislature is evidence that the lieutenant governor is corrupt. Jackson told the Associated Press that “From my standpoint, Burt is more concerned about things that are self-interested for him and his family, and he uses the power of that position to enhance his financial situation like he’s done in the past,” speaking on Tuesday as the primary battle intensified.
The contest has also drawn cross-chamber endorsements that underscore the degree of intraparty friction inside the Georgia GOP. The AP reported that Jan Jones, House Speaker Pro Tem, backed Rick Jackson and said Republicans “we can count on Rick to do the right thing to make our lives better and more affordable.” Her endorsement is notable because it reflects a House Republican leadership decision that could influence how lawmakers position themselves in the run-up to the May 19 primary.
Jones’ campaign has targeted Jackson through a series of claims aimed at painting Jackson Healthcare as deeply embedded in Georgia state contracting. The AP reported that Jones cited the scale of business Jackson Healthcare has done with Georgia state government, including advertising that highlights a large no-bid contract during the COVID-19 pandemic and other state deals. Jones told reporters that “When you get over $1 billion in state contracts and it goes through a no bid process, you tell me where else that’s possible,” while also blaming state agencies for enabling Jackson.
Jackson countered that he acted at Gov. Brian Kemp’s request during the pandemic response and said he viewed that work as putting Georgia’s interests first. The AP quoted Jackson saying, “I don’t see how responding to what a governor asks you to do as being corrupt.” At the same time, Jackson has dismissed Jones’ legislative record as having lacked tangible accomplishments, saying “I don’t know anything he’s actually accomplished ever.”
The fight over Jones’ record is unfolding amid longer-running tensions inside Georgia’s Capitol, which the AP described as having grown increasingly bitter this year. The AP traced the strain to 2023, when Jones launched a dispute over hospital licensing legislation, and accusations emerged because Jones’ family had an ownership interest in a company seeking to build a hospital. The AP said Jones disputed those characterizations and said the push was aimed at improving health care.
This year, the AP said, an anti-Jackson proposal became the focus of weeks of gossip under the Capitol’s “gold dome,” including a version that initially appeared in the House but died at a procedural deadline. The AP reported that on March 18 Jones accused Jackson’s company of being responsible for driving up costs through its contracts delivering medical staff, followed by an April 2 proposal that would have barred people doing business with the state from running for statewide office and thus could have disqualified Jackson.
The AP also described how Georgia’s election machinery has become another flashpoint for the legislature and party leadership, with disputes rooted in questions about whether ballots should be counted using computerized bar codes. Georgia faces a July 1 deadline to stop counting ballots using computerized bar codes, and Jones, alongside other grassroots Trump supporters who control the state Republican Party apparatus, argued in an April 14 letter that Georgia should default to a hand-marked paper ballot system. The AP said many election officials warned that state law had become contradictory and could be the subject of lawsuits, while also warning that a backup paper-ballot system would be expensive and potentially unworkable.
Even Jones, according to the AP, has acknowledged that a special session may be needed to untie the legal knot. The AP also reported that the legislature’s year-to-year policy fights have produced volatility, including debates over income-tax changes and property tax limits, and that some Republicans are signaling concern that process disputes could dominate legislative time. State Rep. Steven Sainz, a Republican who endorsed Jackson, told the AP that “volatility” engulfed the Capitol this year and said he could not think of “a more extreme session, of the process becoming more distracting than the policies we’re looking at,” in the AP’s account.
Burt Jones’ campaign has thus mixed policy history and personal attacks as he confronts a rival who portrays the lieutenant governor as corrupt and who has used advertising to press that theme. Besides Jones and Jackson, the AP reported that Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are also among the top candidates in the May 19 Republican primary.