Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson spent $100 million to overcome Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and win the Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary runoff, securing 53 percent of the vote compared to Jones’s 47 percent after most anticipated ballots were counted. Jackson will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms—backed by Joe Biden’s endorsement—in November’s general election.
Jackson, who was largely unknown to Georgia voters months ago, gained national attention through a campaign emphasizing his background growing up in foster care and overcoming financial barriers to education. “I know what it’s like to feel like nobody sees you,” he stated during rallies with hundreds of supporters, “especially the elite and the powerful.” The healthcare executive repeatedly framed himself as an outsider akin to Donald Trump, declaring, “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems.”
Jackson received late campaign support from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and amplified his narrative of aligning with Trump’s economic vision. Trump Jr. praised Jackson’s business impact during recent remarks, highlighting his role in safeguarding U.S. antibiotic production and oil refining infrastructure amid crises. “Rick saved the last amoxicillin manufacturing facility in America,” Trump Jr. noted, adding that Jackson’s actions aligned with “an America First economy.”
Despite Trump’s public endorsement—a pivotal factor for Jackson’s campaign—Jones ultimately lost after a runoff contest that boiled down to competing for the MAGA base. An eleventh-hour endorsement from outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday night failed to shift the outcome, marking Jones as the second Trump-backed candidate to lose a Republican gubernatorial primary this cycle.
