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Even with family wealth, Burt Jones cannot outspend billionaire Rick Jackson in Georgia’s Republican governor primary, so Jones has instead leaned on his work leading the state Senate to try to define the race. Jones, the lieutenant governor, has run television ads attacking Jackson while arguing he is a “proven leader,” after the proposals he pushed aimed at Jackson Healthcare failed inside the Legislature.
Jones’s approach is tied to his legislative role and to a contentious, fast-moving set of battles between key Republican lawmakers in Atlanta. Jones used his position to press legislation that would have barred Jackson’s company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts, an effort that died but became part of his campaign messaging.
The race is also marked by the political imbalance between the candidates on television spending, according to the Associated Press. Trump endorsed Jones last year, but Jackson moved into contention by spending more than $50 million, setting the stage for a campaign fight that multiple Republicans describe as unexpectedly ugly.
Jackson responded to that record with a direct critique of Jones’s motivations. “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,” Jackson told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Jones, for his part, sought to frame his legislative experience as the foundation of his candidacy. “I’m the one who has actually has the legislative background and legislative experience on knowing how to get things done,” Jones told reporters Tuesday, according to the report. Martha Zoller, a conservative radio talk show host who has supported Chris Carr, said she believes the Trump endorsement is the main asset Jones has. “I think what Burt’s got is the Trump endorsement,” Zoller said. “I don’t think he has much more than that.”
Jones and Jackson have also traded claims that revive longstanding disputes within the Georgia Capitol. The AP report describes tension dating to 2023, when Jones launched a dispute over hospital licensing legislation connected to allegations of corruption because his family has an ownership interest in a company seeking to build a hospital; Jones said at the time that the push was about improving health care.
During this year’s session, Jones’s anti-Jackson moves became the focus of Capitol chatter, the AP said. A version of the proposal initially appeared in the House but died at a procedural deadline. Then, on March 18, Jones made an unusual Senate speech accusing Jackson’s company, Jackson Healthcare, of driving up costs through its contracts for medical staffing, followed on April 2 by a proposal that would have barred people doing business with the state from running for statewide office—an effort that would have disqualified Jackson.
Jones’s campaign later carried the fight further through advertising. The AP report says Jones used television ads calling Jackson “a fraud who got filthy rich off Georgia’s taxpayers and seniors,” pointing to about $930 million in business Jackson Healthcare has done with Georgia state government in recent years, including a no-bid contract for additional health care staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic. “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,” Jones said Tuesday, blaming state agencies for enabling Jackson.
The report also highlights how the Legislature’s internal relationships could affect the outcome. House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones endorsed Jackson, saying, “we can count on Rick to do the right thing to make our lives better and more affordable.” That endorsement could mark a shift among House Republicans who have, for years, felt burned by the lieutenant governor’s efforts to impose his will on the lower chamber, the AP reported.
The same larger environment is now sharpening disputes over Georgia’s election machinery. The state faces a July 1 deadline to stop counting ballots using computerized bar codes, with Jones and other Trump-aligned grassroots supporters arguing in an April 14 letter that Georgia should default to a hand-marked paper ballot system. Many election officials, the AP said, argue state law has become contradictory, could be tied up in lawsuits, and that any backup paper-ballot system would be expensive and possibly unworkable. The report said even Jones agrees a special session may be necessary this summer to untie the legal knot.
Broader policy fights within the Legislature have also spilled into the campaign context. The AP report says Jones trumpeted a plan to phase out Georgia’s income tax, but it withered after Kemp and state House Republicans scorned the idea, leading instead to a compromise to reduce—but not eliminate—the tax over nearly a decade. In a separate tax fight, the House wanted sharper limits on property taxes, while after negotiations the Senate imposed lesser limits, leaving House Republicans feeling “stabbed in the back,” the AP said.
In addition to Jones and Jackson, the AP report says the other top candidates in the May 19 primary are Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.