President Donald Trump’s persistent false claims about the 2020 presidential election are shaping the Republican nomination contests in Georgia, where several candidates who have echoed those unfounded allegations advanced in Tuesday’s primary to runoff elections next month. The results underscore the enduring power of Trump’s stolen-election narrative within the GOP base, even as some party figures warn it could prove damaging in the fall general election.
In the governor’s race, former state Sen. Burt Jones — who in 2020 served as a Trump alternate elector in the attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s victory — captured roughly 40% of the primary vote, according to unofficial returns. His opponent in the June 17 runoff is billionaire political newcomer Rick Jackson, who poured $83 million of his own money into the campaign. Jackson has been less vocal about the 2020 election, but his campaign aired an ad branding outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger a “Judas” for refusing to do Trump’s bidding in 2020. Raffensperger, who drew Trump’s ire by certifying Biden’s electors, finished a distant third at 15%.
The Senate primary saw Rep. Mike Collins lead with about 40% of the vote. Collins has long maintained the false claim that Trump won Georgia in 2020, running ads that featured him shooting a mock voting machine while denouncing the “federal hijacking” of the election. His runoff rival, former college football coach Derek Dooley — son of the longtime coach Vince Dooley — has been more measured on the issue but, like Collins, is pledging loyalty to Trump. The winner will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
In the race to succeed Raffensperger as secretary of state, former deputy secretary of state Tim Fleming and former state Rep. Vernon Jones advanced. Jones, a former Democrat and outspoken Trump loyalist, declared during a debate last month that he “stand[s] with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming has spoken of “irregularities” but emphasized improving election administration going forward. Gabriel Sterling, a top Raffensperger aide who gained national attention in 2020 for publicly urging Trump to discourage threats against election workers, received just 12% of the vote and placed fourth.
The primary also highlighted the enduring focus on Fulton County, the heavily Democratic home of Atlanta, which Trump and his allies have long singled out as the source of imagined fraud. The FBI executed a search warrant at the county’s election office in January and seized 2020 ballots and records, a move that Republicans have cited to keep the 2020 claims alive. On primary night, a police call about possible gunfire and a suspicious person wearing military-style clothing prompted a judge to order two precincts to stay open until 11 p.m., delaying vote reporting for hours. State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, immediately seized on the delay to criticize county elections, posting on social media, “It’s always Fulton County. … We will not have another 2020 this November!”
Debbie Dooley, an early tea party organizer who backed Trump from the start of his first campaign, told the Associated Press that Republicans risk looking foolish if they continue to dwell on 2020. “We’re going to look stupid,” she said. “What are you going to say — Trump won, and he was always the president? It serves no purpose.” She urged the party to focus on the economy and “securing future elections, looking forward.” Yet she conceded she would not be surprised if Trump returned to Georgia to campaign and re-air his grievances.
Georgia’s 2020 presidential votes were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Biden’s victory by 11,779 votes. No evidence of widespread fraud has ever been produced. Still, the issue remains central to Republican identity in the state, and Tuesday’s results suggest it continues to reward candidates who align with Trump’s false narrative — at least in a primary.