State Watch

Jones, Jackson advance to runoff in Georgia GOP gubernatorial contest

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by Caroline Vakil - 05/19/26 8:15 PM ET

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by Caroline Vakil - 05/19/26 8:15 PM ET

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Billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones are projected to advance to a runoff in the Republican primary for Georgia governor, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Jackson and Jones notched spots in the June 16 runoff as the two top vote-getters in the GOP race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp (R), beating Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, and Chris Carr, the state attorney general.

A candidate needed to win at least half of the vote outright to avoid a runoff. Recent polling showed Jackson in first place, with Jones in second, and neither contender surpassed 50 percent support on Tuesday.

Jones secured President Trump’s endorsement while Jackson spent at least $50 million of his own money to launch himself from a political unknown to a serious gubernatorial candidate in the Peach State.

On the trail, Jackson leaned into his personal background — noting that he was raised by a single mother who grappled with alcoholism and was sent to multiple foster homes, but later turned these misfortunes into a multi-billion-dollar health care business. He’s also suggested that given his wealth, he wouldn’t be beholden to special interest groups and cast Jones as a “career politician.”

Meanwhile, Jones has leaned into Trump’s support and questioned Jackson’s conservative bonafides.

On the other side of the aisle, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former state Sen. Jason Esteves are seeking to take on Jackson or Jones in November.

Voters haven’t elected a Democrat as Georgia governor since 1998. when former Gov. Roy Barnes (D) won his gubernatorial race. Yet, this year, the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the seat as a “toss up.”

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