Georgia GOP governor race heads to runoff after record spending war

Georgia’s Republican race for governor turned into a fight over who can inherit Brian Kemp’s coalition and reshape it after him. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson finished first and second in the May 19 primary, setting up a June 16 runoff that will decide the GOP nominee in one of the nation’s most important swing states.

Jones led with about 37% of the vote, while Jackson followed with about 35%. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger finished third and Attorney General Chris Carr came in fourth. Under Georgia law, a candidate must win more than 50% to avoid a runoff, and the state schedules that second round 28 days after the primary.

The runoff is already carrying the weight of a record spending battle. More than $113 million was spent on advertising in the Republican primary for governor, and Jackson’s campaign accounted for more than $61 million of that total. Another estimate put the two front-runners’ combined spending at nearly $100 million, underscoring how much money the GOP poured into a contest centered on taxes, conservatism and loyalty to Donald Trump.

Trump endorsed Jones in August 2025, giving the lieutenant governor a crucial boost with the party’s most intense base voters. A Jones victory would likely strengthen Trump’s grip on Georgia Republican politics after earlier endorsements in statewide races did not always deliver. Jackson, meanwhile, has cast himself as an outsider capable of breaking the hold of party regulars and deep-pocketed interests. On election night, he said his campaign had shaken up the career politicians and insiders. Jones answered with a claim that Georgia voters had sent a clear message that “you can’t buy this state.”

The next month will test which message travels beyond the first-round vote. Jones will try to consolidate Trump-aligned activists, rural turnout and conservatives who still see him as the clearest vessel for the former president’s agenda. Jackson will need to hold together wealthy backers, suburban Republicans and voters tired of the party’s internal feuds if he wants to overcome Jones’s edge.

The winner will face the Democratic nominee in November, with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms seen as the leading Democrat as the field remained unsettled. With Kemp term-limited, the race is the opening chapter in a broader battle over whether Georgia Republicans stay bound to Trump or build a new governing coalition around the post-Kemp era.