Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is facing off with Rick Jackson in an increasingly polarized Georgia primary, wielding his leadership of the state Senate.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones speaks with manufacturers in Atlanta, April 21, 2026. (AP)
When it comes to campaign budget, Burt Jones knows he cannot outspend Rick Jackson in the Georgia Republican primary. To go against the billionaire in the governor’s race, the Lt. Governor is using both his leadership and strategic ads that aim to discredit Jackson.
First, Jones proposed legislation to block Jackson’s company from qualifying for state contracts. His proposal failed, but he followed it up with a TV ad on the same matter. The Georgia primary is turning out to be a heated battle. Jones brings a Trump endorsement, but Jackson is maximizing campaign spending, having spent over $50 million in the race so far.
Meanwhile, there seems to be bad blood brewing between Jones and state senators. The House rejected his anti-Jackson proposal and implemented its own ideas for property taxes. Jones has consistently pushed for hand paper ballots and ignored plans to replace the state’s voting machines, further complicating his relationship with lawmakers. Some of them, including House Speaker Jan Jones, have started to publicly endorse Jackson, saying he’s more reliable.
Jackson’s key campaign message is that Burt Jones is corrupt. He has highlighted Jone’s activities in the legislature as evidence and pointed him out as a self-interested leader who only cares about self-enrichment. “He uses the power of that position to enhance his financial situation,” Jackson told The AP on Tuesday.
Jones is appealing to voters who care about his track record in the Georgia Republican primary. “I’m the one with the legislative background and experience to get things done,” Jones said on Tuesday. But supporters doubt whether Jones’ Trump endorsement can take him far.
House Republicans are more likely to continue to support Jackson in huge numbers, having grown weary of Jones’s strong-arm tactics in the lower chamber in the past few years. In 2023, when Jones challenged the state’s hospital licensing laws, he was accused of corruption and conflict of interest. It was found that his family owns a stake in a company seeking to build hospitals.
This year, when his proposal failed at the procedural deadline, he directly went after Jackson in his Senate speech. He accused his opponent of corruption and complacency in the state’s high expenditure through his company, Jackson Healthcare. He revealed that Jackson received “over $1 billion in state contracts” through a no-bid process, and blamed state agencies for involvement as well.
Georgia’s election environment has not been immune from conspiracy theories ever since Trump accused Biden of stealing the 2020 election. As the State races to the July 1 deadline to stop the use of physical ballot counting methods and switch to bar codes, Jones argues that Georgia should transition to hand-marked paper ballots. Many election officials believe the latter is impractical and expensive.
Jones’s ambitious plan to phase out the income tax in the state has waned following resistance from Kemp and House Republicans. The State agreed to reduce but not eliminate taxes in the next decade. Similarly, the House adopted lesser limits on states’ property taxes, with Republicans feeling disappointed.