ATLANTA, Ga.— President Donald Trump's endorsement wasn't enough to boost Georgia Lt.
Gov.Burt Jones to victory Tuesday night in the ballot-box showdown for the southeastern battleground state's Republican gubernatorial nomination.Jones was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the GOP runoff election for Georgia governor, the Associated Press reports, in the race to succeed term-limited conservative Gov.
Brian Kemp.Jackson, who shelled out over $100 million of his own money on his bid, will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn's general election.Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month's Democratic gubernatorial primary.Jackson was boosted in the final stretch ahead of the runoff election by Republican Sen.
Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUBRepublican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, right, and Sen.Ted Cruz of Texas speak with Fox News Digital, after Cruz headlined a Jackson campaign event in Alpharetta, Georgia, on June 15, 2026.
(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )Jackson, who launched his gubernatorial campaign in February and who broke records by dishing out his own money on behalf of his campaign, told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he'll "put in whatever is necessary" to win the general election.Throughout his campaign, Jackson has said that Trump inspired him to run."I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in.I was inspired by President Trump," Jackson told Fox News Digital last month.And he's repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he's an outsider and businessman.
"I'm going to be Trump's favorite governor bec...