Rick Jackson topples Burt Jones, wins GOP nod for governor [View all]

(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Billionaire Rick Jackson spent more than $100 million of his own money to defeat Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Tuesday’s Republican runoff for governor, toppling a Donald Trump-backed favorite and rebuking Gov. Brian Kemp to cap one of the biggest political upsets in recent Georgia history.

Jackson will now face Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in November after an extraordinary self-funded campaign that transformed him from a little-known, if prodigiously wealthy, healthcare executive into the Republican standard-bearer for Georgia’s top office.

The November matchup will determine if Republicans can extend their decades-long hold on the governor’s office or if Democrats can reclaim Georgia’s most important political post for the first time since former Gov. Roy Barnes lost his 2002 reelection bid.

Jackson’s victory caps one of the costliest and nastiest intraparty battles in state history. He tapped his own fortune, swamping Jones with a barrage of ads that attacked him from every angle. A shadowy anonymous group spent an additional $20 million belittling Jones for months.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/06/rick-jackson-topples-burt-jones-wins-gop-nod-for-governor/