Forsyth County in focus as Burt Jones, Rick Jackson head to runoff

Forsyth County, one of Georgia’s fastest-growing suburbs, has become a measuring stick in the June 16 Republican runoff between Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and health care executive Rick Jackson. AP results from the May 19 primary showed Jones leading with 358,170 votes, or 38.4%, and Jackson second with 303,614 votes, or 32.5%, sending both men into a runoff because no candidate cleared the required majority.

The county’s role is sharper than a hometown claim. AP said Jackson’s strongest areas were concentrated in the Atlanta region, including Forsyth County, while Jones ran best in rural central and southern Georgia. That split matters because Georgia runoff rules reward the top two vote-getters, and the June 16 race will test whether Jackson can convert suburban support into enough turnout to close the gap, or whether Jones’s base in smaller counties proves more durable in a low-turnout finish.

Forsyth’s numbers help explain why both campaigns are treating it as more than a symbolic prize. The county’s estimated population reached 282,805 on July 1, 2025, and the latest Census profile shows it was 23.8% Asian, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino, and 22.9% foreign-born. In a Republican runoff, that mix can shape not only candidate appeal but also where each campaign chooses to invest time, money and turnout operations.

The race has also been pulled into local controversy. Jackson was pressed during a debate over whether undocumented immigrants were working on his Forsyth County property, and Jones has used the exchange to portray him as soft on illegal immigration. The issue intensified after court records and reporting showed a landscaper injured in March 2023 on Jackson’s Forsyth County estate has been pursuing workers’ compensation benefits, with a Forsyth County judge hearing arguments in the case in mid-May.

Money has turned the runoff into one of the most expensive contests in the state. The two campaigns and allied spending combined to nearly $100 million during the primary, and Jackson alone has put more than $83 million of his personal fortune into the race. Jones enters the runoff with Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Jackson is casting himself as the candidate fighting the political establishment. In Forsyth County, that contrast will be judged not by rhetoric but by turnout and the size of the suburban coalition each man can hold together.