Georgia Runoffs 2026: Rick Jackson Defeats Burt Jones, Secures GOP Governor Nomination

Billionaire Rick Jackson invested over $100 million of his own money to defeat Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Tuesday's Republican runoff for governor, toppling a Donald Trump-backed favorite and undermining Gov. Brian Kemp to cap one of the biggest political upsets in recent Georgia history.

Jackson will now face Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in November after an extraordinary self-funded campaign that transformed him from a little-known, if prolifically wealthy, healthcare executive into the Republican standard-bearer for Georgia's top office.

The November matchup will determine if Republicans can extend their decades-long hold on the governor's office or if Democrats can reclaim Georgia's most important political post for the first time since former Gov. Roy Barnes lost his 2002 reelection bid.

'In November, the choice could not be more clear,' he said to cheering supporters at his campaign party at a Sandy Springs hotel. 'Do we continue moving Georgia forward? Or do we go backward to Keisha Lance Bottoms' record of excuses and failed leadership?'

Jackson's victory caps one of the costliest and nastiest intraparty battles in state history. He tapped his own fortune, swamping Jones with a barrage of ads that attacked him from every angle. A shadowy anonymous group spent an additional $20 million belittling Jones for months.

Jones countered with more than $25 million from his own family fortune, fueling a contest that left both candidates bruised and voters exhausted.

'We came up short,' Jones told supporters. 'We had a great election day. We just didn't have enough runway to get it all the way there.'

The result is likely to reverberate far beyond the race to succeed the term-limited Kemp. And it raises fresh questions about the limits of political endorsements, even from Trump, whose backing Jones highlighted at every stop.

Jackson, 71, often opened his dozens of town halls around the state by leaning on his biography: growing up with an alcoholic mother, running away from home and living in five foster homes as a child. It was in one of those homes, he said, that he found Christianity and the roots of the business empire that would make him a billionaire.

Casting himself as a political outsider in Trump's mold, the healthcare executive argued that politicians had failed Georgia and that his business background made him better suited to run state government.

He promised to be Trump's 'favorite governor,' embraced the president's agenda and convinced enough MAGA voters that he represented the movement's future despite Jones' formal endorsement.

Staff writers Patricia Murphy and Alex Nettles contributed to this report.

Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.

Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.