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 million in the primary race, had declined to attend a scheduled debate against Jones on June 2, giving the lieutenant governor an open forum to attack his opponent.
“If my opponent was here, if Jackson was here, I would just ask him very simply, you know, what is the deal with the Medicare fraud and the $750,000 in settlement money he paid the Department of Justice,” Jones said.
“I would ask him about his campaign contributions to Stacey Abrams as well as Liz Cheney and Geoff Duncan, his association with organizations like Planned Parenthood. And last but not least, I would ask him about the question that tripped him up last time he was on stage. How many illegals do you have working in your company?” he asked.
The final question referred to The Post’s report on Jackson’s failure to vet the citizenship status of workers at his own Cumming, Ga., mansion.
Roughly $30 million of Jackson’s own fortune as a health care executive has been loaned to his campaign.
Trump had touted Jones as “a WARRIOR,” “successful Businessman” and “former SEC Championship-winning Georgia Bulldogs football player” in a Truth Social post announcing his support last August.
“Burt has proven he has the Courage and Wisdom to deliver strong results for the incredible people of his wonderful State and Nation,” the president said.