Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia was among the first leaders in the state to support Donald Trump ten years ago. Trump did the same on Monday, giving Jones’ gubernatorial campaign a significant boost.
I wholeheartedly support Burt Jones for governor because he will never let you down! Trump made a social media post.
After U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, his main opponent for a Trump benediction, decided to withdraw from the campaign, Jones, who had spent years gaining the president’s backing, appeared certain to receive the endorsement.
Attorney General Chris Carr, the only other well-known Republican in the race, has suffered a setback. Since Trump’s return, Carr has visited the White House four times in an attempt to unite the mainstream and MAGA factions of the Republican Party.
Jones now has a $14 million war chest funded by his personal wealth and a highly valued endorsement ahead of a primary that is probably going to be dominated by people who support the president. Jones, whose family owns an insurance company and an oil company, contributed $10 million to his campaign.
In November, Trump defeated Kamala Harris by more than 110,000 votes and earned more than 80% of the state’s presidential primary vote. The majority of Georgia Republicans support the president and his policies, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.
However, Carr is aware from personal experience that Trump’s rejection does not mean that his chances are over. In 2022, he easily defeated a candidate supported by Trump and then made an effort to patch things up with the president.
However, if Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a favorite of centrist voters, enters the race, Carr may be under more pressure to compete for more moderate Republicans.
Long histories
Trump and Jones have been together for a long time. While most Georgia Republicans stayed away from him, Jones supported Trump in 2015 while serving as a state senator. In 2020, he served as a crucial stand-in for Trump. One of his biggest Georgia contributors is his father, Bill Jones.
Burt Jones pushed for a special legislative session following Trump’s loss and backed legal actions meant to overturn Joe Biden’s win.
Along with being one of the 16 Republican electors who signed documents erroneously claiming Trump won Georgia, he also asked then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the official results in Congress.
A special prosecutor declined to pursue the case, and a court prohibited district attorney Fani Willis from charging Jones, despite a special grand jury’s recommendation that he be indicted as part of the Fulton County election-interference investigation. Jones has referred to the probe as politically motivated and denies any wrongdoing.
In 2022, Jones became one of the few statewide Republicans to win the open lieutenant governor’s contest thanks to Trump’s support. In 2023, Gov. Brian Kemp and other prominent Republicans did not attend a state GOP convention that featured Trump, but Jones was the highest-ranking Republican to do so.
Since taking office, Jones has assigned special committees to examine Willis’ choice to charge Trump and his supporters with electoral meddling. On the 2024 campaign road, he was also a mainstay.
Carr and Trump have had a difficult relationship. He garnered MAGA criticism for refusing to join an unsuccessful Texas lawsuit to nullify Georgia’s results, claiming that it was factually, legally, and constitutionally incorrect, while having backed Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Carr has made an effort to connect with both conservative Trump fans and more moderate Republicans who might support him during his gubernatorial race.
Carr told the AJC earlier this year, “I am confident that the Trump administration will be much better on the issues that I care about, which are jobs and the economy, safety, and an immigration system that starts with defending the nation.”
Meanwhile, Jones relished the recommendation.
“We’re fighting to secure Georgia values, lower taxes, and ensure election integrity,” he stated. And we’re only getting started with Trump’s backing.
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2025 The Journal-Constitution of Atlanta. Go to atajc.com. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
