Billionaire Rick Jackson defeats Trump-backed Burt Jones in Georgia GOP governors runoff
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Rick Jackson scored an upset victory in the Georgia governor’s race against Lt.Gov.
Burt Jones (R), who was endorsed by both Gov.Brian Kemp and President Trump in the highly competitive runoff race Tuesday.Jackson won 53% of voters in the Peach State, while Jones won 47% when the race was called by the Associated Press at 9:45 pm ET.The billionaire’s victory marks a rare endorsement defeat for Trump, who has enjoyed a near-perfect record in House, Senate, and governor’s GOP primary races this cycle, suffering his first setback in Iowa two weeks ago, when his pick Randy Feenstra lost to Zach Lahn.The GOP kingpin successfully took down incumbent Sen.
Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Rep.Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Cassidy was the first incumbent senator in over a decade to lose a primary.In the Peach State, Trump and Kemp had been at odds in the Senate race, with the president backing Rep.Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and the governor supporting Derek Dooley.
Ultimately, Collins won. Jackson had polled ahead of Jones in the crowded primary field that also included Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — but the lieutenant governor surged ahead in the May 19 election to finish in first place and lock in a runoff slot.Jackson will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November for a chance at keeping Georgia under GOP control.Heading into the runoff, Jones secured a last-minute endorsement from Kemp, who had previously committed to remaining neutral in the gubernatorial election, even after Trump endorsed the lieutenant governor.Kemp, in a statement, said Jones was “a strong, trusted ally” who “worked hard alongside me and my administration to return over $9 billion back to taxpayers, raise pay and retirement benefits for state law enforcement, and he never wavered when we took on the special interests to pass meaningful tort reform for the first time in twenty years.”Jackson, who has spent a whopping $107 milli...