Trump-Backed Jones Advances to Georgia GOP Governor Runoff

President Donald Trump's endorsement was not enough to give Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones an outright win in the Republican primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp.

Jones and healthcare executive and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson finished first and second in Tuesday's GOP primary, the Associated Press reports. Because no candidate reached 50 percent of the vote, Jones and Jackson advance to a June 16 runoff.

The eight-candidate field also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Jones, a former University of Georgia football captain, oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served in the state Senate before winning election as lieutenant governor in 2022. He received Trump's endorsement last August.

"The president is still very popular, and here in the state of Georgia, he's got an unbelievable approval rating," Jones told Fox News Digital last week.

Jones said he and Trump have a long-standing relationship. "He and I have a long standing relationship — friendship — and I've always been a big supporter of his, and he's a very big supporter of mine, as well," he said.

Jackson launched his campaign in February and has spent more than $80 million of his own money. He said Trump inspired him to run.

"I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump," Jackson told Fox News Digital.

Jackson was largely unknown to voters a few months ago. His story of building a business empire after growing up in foster care and without the means to attend college has become familiar through heavy advertising.

He is running as an outsider. "I'm confident that at the end of the day that the people are going to vote for me one way or the other, because they can see somebody that's actually like Trump, not just endorsed. And from that standpoint, I think having an outsider is what our people want," he said.

Jones questioned Jackson's support for Trump, citing past donations to Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans. "He's been dishonest about who he is. He's been dishonest about who he's supported in the background," Jones said. "He's actually, you know, portraying himself as something that he's not."

Jackson called the attacks "just lies" and said, "I'm going to be his favorite governor."