Rick Jackson Wins Georgia GOP Runoff After Spending $100 Million to Beat Trump Pick
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 17
Rick Jackson Wins Georgia GOP Runoff After Spending $100 Million to Beat Trump Pick
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 17
Summary
Rick Jackson secured Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday by defeating Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, President Trump’s endorsed candidate, in a costly runoff.
More than $100 million of Jackson’s own money helped turn the billionaire health care executive from a little-known political newcomer into the frontrunner through heavy advertising.
Jones entered with backing from both Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp, but his prominence in efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election result may have hurt him.
Jackson now moves to a November race against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won the Democratic primary in May and has already been campaigning on affordability, voting rights and attacks on Trump.
The result marks the second Trump-backed loss in a Republican governor’s primary this month and leaves Jackson needing to reunite a bruised GOP base while broadening his appeal statewide.