{"id":2614849,"date":"2026-06-16T22:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-jackson-topples-trump-backed-burt-jones-in-georgia-gubernatorial-runoff\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T22:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:09:27","slug":"rick-jackson-topples-trump-backed-burt-jones-in-georgia-gubernatorial-runoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-jackson-topples-trump-backed-burt-jones-in-georgia-gubernatorial-runoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Jackson topples Trump-backed Burt Jones in Georgia gubernatorial runoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frick-jackson-topples-trump-backed-burt-jones-in-georgia-gubernatorial-runoff%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2614849&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rick Jackson, a former healthcare executive, won Georgia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >gubernatorial primary runoff<\/a> by defeating Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, despite Jones\u2019 endorsements from Donald Trump and Governor Brian Kemp. Jackson&#8217;s surprise campaign, launched in February with a $50 million investment, upended the race where Jones was initially the front-runner. Jackson spent over $100 million of his own money, making this primary the most expensive in Georgia&#8217;s history. The race was closely contested, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-job-approval-is-underwater-in-all-but-four-states-poll\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Job Approval Is Underwater In All But Four States: Poll\">recent polls showing<\/a> a dead heat before Jackson secured 52.8% of the vote against Jones&#8217;s 47.3%. Jones promoted his political experience, while Jackson campaigned as a political outsider; the campaign turned bitter, with Jones criticizing Jackson&#8217;s spending. Jackson also faced controversy over employment practices and allegations related to illegal immigrants at his mansion. He will now face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rick Jackson, a former healthcare executive, defeated Lt. Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/burt-jones\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"21409\">Burt Jones<\/a> in Georgia\u2019s gubernatorial primary runoff Tuesday night, notching an upset over President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s preferred candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Associated Press<\/em> called the race at 9:45 p.m. With 85% of ballots counted, Jackson received 52.8% of the vote, while Jones earned 47.3%. Jackson will now face Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4610743\/florida-gop-refuse-governor-debate\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida GOP roiled over refusal to hold gubernatorial debate<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4608529\/dc-mayoral-race-mamdani-style-politics-janeese-lewis-george-kenyan-mcduffie\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DC mayoral race tests demand for Mamdani-style politics against establishment figure<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4609605\/eleanor-holmes-norton-replacement-dc-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Who might replace Eleanor Holmes Norton as DC voters choose a younger, more combative delegate<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones entered the race in 2025 as the presumptive front-runner, but Jackson\u2019s surprise campaign launch in February, which he initially seeded with a $50 million investment, upended the primary. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson\u2019s victory over Jones comes despite the current lieutenant governor wielding the endorsements of both Trump and term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), who backed Jones at the 11th hour. His clinching of the GOP nomination was a test of money against political capital, with Jackson having spent at least $100 million of his own fortune to boost his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GOP primary is the most expensive in Georgia\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Jackson came in 2nd place in Georgia\u2019s May 19 primary, where neither he nor Jones secured a majority of the vote, the gubernatorial hopeful was able to use the time between the first primary election and the Tuesday runoff race to boost his support, with recent polling showing the race in a dead heat.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones argued to voters that he had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-prioritizes-ukraines-financial-stability-in-biden-call-as-russia-panic-threatens-economy\/\" title=\"Zelensky Prioritizes Ukraine&#039;s &#039;Financial Stability&#039; in Biden Call as Russia Panic Threatens Economy\">prior political experience<\/a>, whereas Jackson campaigned on his political outsider status. The race between the two men turned bitter, with Jones seeking to use Jackson\u2019s campaign spending as a political cudgel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRick Jackson is everywhere \u2013 spending over $100 million trying to buy our vote,\u201d says a recent ad from Jones\u2019 campaign. \u201cBut Georgia is not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones also pushed legislation earlier this year that sought to disqualify Jackson\u2019s healthcare company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The effort, however, stirred controversy, pushing House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones to endorse Jackson, who told the Associated Press that \u201cBurt is more concerned about things that are self-interested for him and his family, and he uses the power of that position to enhance his financial situation like he\u2019s done in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson, meanwhile, has been mired in controversy over whether or not he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-senate-approves-300-weekly-checks-for-unemployed-illegals\/\" title=\"CA Senate OKs 0 Weekly Aid for Jobless Undocumented.\">employed illegal immigrants<\/a> at his mansion. The healthcare executive has made the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of a crime a cornerstone of his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This story is breaking and will be updated.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP runoff over Burt Jones<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":2614850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26140121182387.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[53014,43554,81279,78677],"class_list":["post-2614849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-burt-jones","tag-georgia-politics","tag-gubernatorial-runoff","tag-rick-jackson-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26140121182387.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614849"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614853,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614849\/revisions\/2614853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2614850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}