Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP governor runoff over Trump-backed Burt Jones

ATLANTA, Ga. — President Donald Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to propel Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to victory Tuesday night in the southeastern battleground state’s ballot box showdown for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Jones lost to billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the GOP runoff election for Georgia governor in the race to replace term-limited conservative Gov. Brian Kemp, the Associated Press reported.

Jackson, who has spent more than $100 million of his own money on his bid, will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who now serves in the Biden administration, in this fall’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning the majority of votes ahead of six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jackson was backed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative firebrand from Texas, in the final stretch ahead of the runoff election.

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Jackson, who started his campaign The man who ran his February gubernatorial campaign and broke records by giving away his own money on behalf of his campaign told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he would “do whatever it takes” to win the general election.

Throughout his campaign, Jackson said Trump inspired him to run.

“I thought if there was someone who was doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump did for the United States, I felt like I would make a huge impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons why I wanted to join. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital last month.

And he has repeatedly emphasized that he, like Trump, is a foreigner and a businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re the same when it comes to getting things done and solving problems, and I want to do in Georgia exactly what he did in the federal government,” he said in an interview on Fox News Digital on Sunday.

Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters a few months ago, but thanks to an avalanche of publicity, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college has become well known in the Peach State.

And Jackson noted the outsider credentials, saying voters “will be able to see someone who is not just endorsed, but actually looks like Trump.” “From that perspective, I think having someone from the outside is what our people want.”

Cruz joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. I also think he’s ready to win. And the stakes are very high. This election is a nationwide battleground. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also backed South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who will face Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Akşam in a week.

Asked if he was trying to create some clarity between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded: “No. Not remotely… The president and I are on the same page in the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is to support the strongest conservatives who can win. And I usually enter races at a time when my support can make a difference and help.”

Jones targeted Jackson on the eve of the Cruz visit.

“He keeps bringing in senators from out of state, and I would rather have the president’s approval,” he said. “He has to go out of state to get support. We keep all our stuff in state.”

And Jones has repeatedly questioned his opponent’s support for the president, citing Jackson’s past donations to Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans as evidence that he is at odds with the MAGA wing of the party.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones highlighted his support for President Donald Trump as he runs for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the key southeast battleground. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“He was dishonest about who he was. He was dishonest about who he supported behind the scenes,” Jones charged. “He’s actually pretending to be someone he’s not.”

Jackson backtracked, saying the attacks against him were “just lies.”

Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Since no candidate could surpass 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the second round.

Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before being elected lieutenant governor in 2022. A big supporter of Trump, he was endorsed by the president last August.

“He and I have a long-standing relationship, a friendship, and I’ve always been a big supporter of him, and he’s a big supporter of me,” Jones said, pointing to Trump in an interview with Fox News Digital last month. he said.

And he repeatedly touted his support for the president during the primary and runoff campaigns.

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Kemp made a last-minute statement in support of Jones on Sunday. At an event Monday morning, Kemp said his mission is to “make sure we have the best people at the top who can win in November, and you know, that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”

“When you think about the trajectory of the state, the great things we’ve been able to do, I think he’s the best person to lead the state forward,” Kemp said. And he warned, “The consequences of not winning are like we’re going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we can’t afford to do that.”

Term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp (R) of Georgia supports Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican gubernatorial runoff elections on June 15, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Trump’s enormous influence over the Republican Party faced another major test in Georgia, though not on the ballot.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks; His candidates toppled the incumbents they targeted in showdowns that drew huge national attention in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas.

But Trump’s streak of endorsements in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of retiring Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to win GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds was not enough to lift the three-term congressman to victory.

To Feenstra, there was little difference between Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist backed by the political wings of MAHA (an acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Zach Lahn raises his fist in celebration after defeating his primary opponent in Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial race on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Zach Lahn for the Governor via Facebook)

Trump rebounded last week when Lt. Gov. Pamela Akşamte, the candidate he supported in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, finished first in a crowded field and took one of two tickets in the race for the nomination.

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Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally, won a majority of votes in the Republican Senate primary and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who is backed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who targeted the senator for his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was supported by some MAGA leaders who were critical of the president.