A bruising fight between two Georgia Republican frontrunners for governor will continue for a few more weeks.
Neither Lt. Gov. Burt Jones nor wealthy healthcare executive Rick Jackson received over 50% of the vote Tuesday, each getting about 38% and 33%, respectively, according to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s website as of early Wednesday morning.
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Jones and Jackson will face off in a runoff for the Republican nomination on June 16.
Speaking at an election night watch party in north Atlanta, Jackson cast himself as an outsider, often contrasting his success against Jones’ career in politics spanning over a decade.
“I think it’s safe to say we shook up the career politicians and insiders to their core, but the job is not done. We have 28 days to finish it, and the choice could not be more clear or more important,” Jackson said Tuesday night.
In a speech at his election night watch party, Jones lauded his first-place finish in vote totals, which is something he said the campaign didn’t “quite frankly didn’t expect.” He also said that Georgia’s next governor will inherit a strong economy, calling it the “hub of the southeast,” and that he’s the best candidate to “not mess it up.”
“Both Republicans and Democrats, I don’t think they have that same grit about them to make sure that Georgia stays a red state, business-friendly state, and one that we’ll continue to love and raise our families in,” Jones said.
In a statement, Jones also mocked Jackson for spending about $83 million of his money on his campaign. Both campaigns were largely self-funded, with Jones loaning his campaign $19 million on top of raising nearly $4.6 million.
“Tonight Georgia sent a clear message — you can’t buy this state and now, Georgia, it’s time to finish the drill,” Jones said.
Jones, who was the apparent frontrunner before Jackson entered the Republican primary in February, was first elected to the Georgia state Senate in 2012, where he served for a decade before being elected lieutenant governor a decade later. Jones was an early supporter of President Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, and he would later serve as one of the “alternate” Republican electors in Georgia who signed documents falsely proclaiming Trump won the 2020 election.
Jones’ hopes of avoiding a runoff were dashed when Jackson’s surprise late entrance into the race upended the race.
Jackson, the head and founder of Jackson Healthcare, has pitched himself as a political outsider willing to take on the political establishment, often comparing his shift from businessman to politician to Trump’s political ascent. Even Jackson’s campaign launch was reminiscent of Trump’s, with the Georgia Republican riding down in a glass elevator. And on election night, he kept that comparison going, saying that if elected, Jackson will be “President Trump’s favorite governor.”
“I’ll be like Trump, but with a Southern tongue,” Jackson said Tuesday night.
The two candidates together have raised $107 million and spent over $80 million over the primary, according to campaign finance records leading up to the May 19 election day.
But even after all that spending to sway voters, Jackson and Jones had remained virtually tied in nearly every poll conducted during the campaign season.
Democrats appeared to celebrate the race going to a runoff, saying that Georgians will continue to hear the negative attacks Jackson and Jones have been hurling at one another.
“It looks like the nastiest and most expensive Republican primary in Georgia history is going into overtime,” said Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Jackson’s election night event featured prominent Georgia Republicans speaking in support, often throwing jabs at Jones. Insurance Commissioner John King, who joined Jackson on the campaign trail, said in a speech that Jackson “understands success is earned, not handed to you by your daddy.”
Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones said that House Republicans “watched the other side and how it was governed in the other house, and we want something better.”
“It’s one thing to govern a chamber poorly. It’s another thing to govern a state poorly, and we’re not going to let it happen,” she said.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who rose to national prominence when he resisted Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, received 15% of the vote and conceded shortly after 9 p.m.
Raffensperger lamented the $100 million spent between Jackson and Jones, saying that “Burt’s dad had to cough up a lot of money.” Raffensperger, who consistently came in third in polling, appealed to moderate Republicans and often said he was the candidate with the best shot at keeping the Governor’s seat in Republican hands. At his election night watch party, Raffensperger said he believed in his campaign message, but the exorbitant spending between Jackson and Jones on attack ads drowned his message.
“It’s tough to get your message out. We were in a good race under normal times,” he said. “But we felt like we had a good message.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr received about 12% of the vote and at his election in north Atlanta, he thanked his supporters for “giving us your time, your treasure and your talent.” He pointed to the last time he lost an election when he ran for class president in the 7th grade.
“And unfortunately, it appears that we’re going to fall a bit short today as well,” Carr said. “Now, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you I wasn’t disappointed. I certainly am. I’m a competitor, and I truly felt that I was the best person to lead this state as governor, but I’m constantly reminded that God’s will is more important than our own.”
Reporter Ellie Fivas contributed to this report.
