Billionaire Rick Jackson Upsets Trump-Backed Burt Jones In Georgia GOP Governor Runoff

BreakingBusinessBillionaire Rick Jackson Upsets Trump-Backed Burt Jones In Georgia GOP Governor RunoffBySara Dorn,Forbes Staff. Sara Dorn is a Forbes news reporter who covers politics.Follow AuthorJun 16, 2026, 09:51pm EDTToplineBillionaire Rick Jackson defeated heavily favored Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff in Georgia after spending more than $100 million on his own campaign, breaking state records. Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson speaks at his election night watch party on May 19, 2026 in Atlanta. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)Getty ImagesKey FactsJackson held 53% of votes when the Associated Press called the race, while Jones had 47%.The contest went to a runoff after no candidate received a majority of votes in the May primary—Jones won 38% and Jackson won 34%.Jones, backed by Trump, won a last-minute endorsement from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp over the weekend. Jones was the favorite heading into the runoff, with Kalshi showing odds of winning at roughly 70% around the time polls closed Tuesday.Jackson faces Democratic nominee, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in the general election. The general election is expected to be a close race, as Democrats have made inroads in the state in recent years, despite Georgia not having elected a Democrat for governor since 1998. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { pri...