Trump-endorsed Burt Jones seeks edge on Rick Jackson in ugly Republican primary for Georgia governor

ATLANTA (AP) — Even with all his family wealth, there is no way for Burt Jones to outspend billionaire Rick Jackson in the Republican primary for Georgia governor. So Jones tried something else — harnessing his leadership of the state Senate to seek an edge over Jackson.

Using his position as lieutenant governor, Jones pushed legislation that would have disqualified Jackson's company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts. The proposal failed, but Jones is running a television ad attacking Jackson on the subject at the same time Jones argues he is a “proven leader."

The episode is another turn in an unexpectedly ugly battle for the Republican nomination. Jones was endorsed by President Donald Trump last year, but Jackson has elbowed into contention by spending more than $50 million.

Jones' gambit might have backfired, however, and bad blood within the state legislature could hamper his candidacy.

The state House refused to consider the anti-Jackson proposal, while state senators discarded a plan by the lower chamber to limit property taxes in favor of their own ideas. Jones also irritated House leaders by ignoring a plan to continue using Georgia's voting machines for one more year until replacements can be arranged, creating the possibility of a dicey election-season special session.

Now one of the top Republicans in the lower chamber — House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones — has endorsed Jackson by saying "we can count on Rick to do the right thing to make our lives better and more affordable.”

Jackson argued that Burt Jones' work in the legislature was further evidence that the lieutenant governor is corrupt, a message that the health care tycoon is pushing in advertising too.

“From my standpoint, Burt 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’s done in the past,” Jackson told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Besides Jones and Jackson, the other top candidates in the May 19 primary are Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Jones used his position to target Jackson

Jones tried to score wins during the session that would appeal to Republican primary voters, including some he could use against Jackson.

“I’m the one who has actually has the legislative background and legislative experience on knowing how to get things done,” Jones told reporters Tuesday.

But it is not clear how much that record will matter, said Martha Zoller, a conservative radio talk show host who has been supporting Carr.

“I think what Burt’s got is the Trump endorsement,” Zoller said. “I don’t think he has much more than that.”

Jackson is even more dismissive of Jones.

“I don’t know anything he’s actually accomplished ever,” Jackson said.

Jan Jones’ embrace of Jackson could be the start of a tide of state House Republicans rejecting the lieutenant governor after years of feeling burned by his attempts to impose his will on the lower chamber.

The tension dates to 2023, when Jones launched a dispute over hospital licensing legislation, leading to accusations of corruption because his family has an ownership interest in a company seeking to build a hospital. Jones has said the push wasn't about helping his family business but improving health care.

This year's anti-Jackson bill was the focus of weeks of gossip under the Georgia’s Capitol gold dome. A version of it initially appeared in the House, but it died at a procedural deadline. Then on March 18, in an unusual speech to the Senate, Jones accused Jackson’s company, Jackson Healthcare, of being responsible for driving up costs in the state through its contracts to deliver medical staff.

That was followed on April 2 by a proposal to ban anyone doing business with the state from running for statewide office, which would have disqualified Jackson. Now Jones is running ads calling Jackson “a fraud who got filthy rich off Georgia’s taxpayers and seniors,” pointing to the $930 million in business that Jackson Healthcare has done with Georgia state government in recent years, including a huge no-bid contract to provide extra health care staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When you get over $1 billion in state contracts and it goes through a no bid process, you tell me where else that’s possible,” Jones said Tuesday, blaming state agencies for enabling Jackson.

State Sen. Matt Brass, one of Jones’ closest allies, said the proposal was an example of Jones’ hands-on leadership.

“I think he’s done what he’s always done, and that’s lead from the front,” Brass said. “When we go into battle and we take on tough issues, the lieutenant governor, he doesn’t send us in there to do his work, he leads.”

Jackson said he acted at Gov. Brian Kemp's request to help with the pandemic response and was only putting Georgia's interests first.

“I don’t see how responding to what a governor asks you to do as being corrupt,” Jackson said Tuesday.

Bad blood under the gold dome

More trouble could be coming over Georgia's election machinery, which has been a source of controversy and conspiracy theories since Trump falsely accused Joe Biden of stealing the 2020 presidential race.

The state faces a July 1 deadline to stop counting ballots using computerized bar codes. Jones, like other grassroots Trump supporters who control the state Republican Party apparatus, argued in an April 14 letter that Georgia should default to a hand-marked paper ballot system.

However, many election officials argue that state law has become contradictory and could be subject to lawsuits. They also warn that the backup paper ballot system will be very expensive and possibly unworkable.

Even Jones now agrees a special session may be necessary this summer to untie the legal knot.

Jones also trumpeted his goal to phase out Georgia's income tax, but an ambitious cut withered after being scorned by Kemp, who is wrapping up his final term in office, and state House Republicans.

A compromise was reached to further reduce — but not eliminate — the tax over nearly a decade.

The House, in turn, wanted sharp limits on property taxes. After extended negotiations, the Senate instead imposed lesser limits, with House Republicans feeling stabbed in the back.

State Rep. Steven Sainz, a Republican who has endorsed Jackson, said in general that “volatility” engulfed the Capitol this year.

“I could not think of a more extreme session, of the process becoming more distracting than the policies we’re looking at,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Charlotte Kramon contributed.