HOMER, Georgia — As the final golfers of the day concluded their rounds at Chimney Oaks Golf Club, a brisk wind swept across the practice putting green, bending the pin flags sharply. A sleek helicopter gracefully descended onto the well-kept lawn.
Rick Jackson had arrived.
The billionaire health care executive turned GOP gubernatorial candidate made a dramatic entrance as the keynote speaker at a recent event organized by the Banks County Republican Party. His arrival mirrored the disruptive manner in which he launched his campaign two months ago: loud, extravagant, and unexpected.
Jackson, who was initially an unknown figure in the gubernatorial race, has become a leading contender in the polls. He achieved this by investing $50 million of his own funds to saturate the airwaves, social media, and mailboxes with advertisements—almost double what all other candidates in both primaries combined have spent, according to AdImpact analysis. His campaign is encroaching on Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ support among ultra-conservative voters and complicating Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger’s chances of reaching the June runoff.
The race, already crowded, has shifted its focus to Jackson.
“Anytime you’ve got somebody spending $100 million on TV and mailers and everything else, obviously you’re forced to talk about him,” Jones remarked in an interview with POLITICO.
Jackson’s campaign has so captivated voter attention that other Georgia Republicans are concerned about their ability to stand out in their own races.
Voters and strategists alike find Jackson’s presence unavoidable, even at home. His media blitz is causing concern among fellow Republicans, with several telling POLITICO that Jackson’s campaign threatens down-ballot races—and a crucial Senate contest—that could be decided by very narrow margins.
“Down the ballot, it’s going to be extremely difficult for candidates for the other constitutional offices to get any kind of media attention, which creates a scenario where many of these races are essentially crapshoots,” said Spiro Amburn, a longtime Georgia Republican strategist and statehouse official who remains neutral in the race.
A Georgia-based Republican operative involved with the governor’s race suggested that Jackson’s campaign is partly responsible for the disarray in the GOP Senate primary, as candidates are struggling to gain traction and make headway with paid media. Another GOP strategist observed that Jackson’s spending, especially in a primary, has set a new precedent: “I watched 30 minutes of TV the other day and had six Rick Jackson ads. It’s just on a different level.”
“He’s sucked up so much oxygen that it’s really hard for any other Republican to operate right now,” commented a third GOP strategist involved in races across the state.
In an interview, Jackson mentioned that he hadn’t considered the impact of his spending on other races and stated he would ultimately support them when he becomes the GOP nominee.
“Anytime you have a lot of money on TV, it’s going to raise the bar for everybody. Unfortunately, it’s just a necessity,” he stated without apology. Speaking with POLITICO after the Banks County event, Jackson dismissed concerns about his spending and declared he would do “whatever it takes” to win.
“When I win, that’s when I’m done,” he added.
Rick Jackson’s money vs. Burt Jones’ Trump endorsement
Jones, who previously led the governor’s race by most standards, is now neck and neck with Jackson, according to recent polling. Jackson is positioning himself as a Trump-aligned candidate, despite not having a close personal relationship with the former president.
“He’s not portraying himself as what he really is,” Jones told POLITICO. “He’s not this hard-nosed conservative guy. He is somebody who’s dependent on state and federal contracts to make his living, and he’s trying to make himself out to be some outsider and doesn’t know how the political process works.”
Jones’ allies are attacking Jackson as a big-spending outsider. At a fish fry in rural Atkinson County, state Rep. James Burchette urged voters to question why someone would spend so much money to “take control of the state of Georgia.” Sen. Russ Goodman cautioned that “all this stuff that you see in the mailbox — it’s nothing but a bunch of lies.”
However, Trump’s endorsement of Jones continues to carry significant weight with his base.
The former president reaffirmed his support for Jones, saying, “All these guys are coming in now loaded up with some money. Who the hell knows how much money he’s got? But Burt Jones has been here and been with you and been with me right from the beginning,” at a February event in Rome, Georgia.
Outside the fish fry, Jones’ campaign bus prominently displayed the reminder: “Trump Endorsed.”
Jackson hopes to win over voters like Bruce Brooker, a 72-year-old farmer from Atkinson County, who is intrigued by Jackson but remains loyal to Jones due to Trump’s endorsement.
“I would probably vote for [Jackson] if Trump had not endorsed Burt,” Brooker said. “I like the fact that he started with nothing and crawled and climbed through like any. He knows what hard work is. I’m not being critical of him. I admire him.”
Jackson is working to solidify his MAGA credentials to attract Jones’ voters. In Homer, where Jackson addressed a crowd of around 200 at the country club, attendees questioned him about his relationship with Trump.
One attendee asked Jackson to explain his donation to former Rep. Liz Cheney, a known Trump critic who voted to impeach the president during his first term. Another questioned why he only contributed to Trump after the 2024 election.
“Just like JD Vance and Marco Rubio, I will admit I was late to the Trump Train. There’s no question about it,” Jackson responded. “But I gave a million dollars to him. That’s not an insignificant concept of supporting somebody.”
The non-MAGA candidates say they have an opening
Other gubernatorial candidates who are less focused on courting the MAGA base—such as Raffensperger, who has criticized attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and Attorney General Chris Carr—are not as worried about Jackson’s impact on their campaigns.
Julia Mazzone, Carr’s campaign spokesperson, stated that Jackson’s entrance into the race “devastates Burt Jones’ campaign, but it does not change the fundamentals for us.” The attorney general faces an uphill battle to advance from the primary, as polls place him in a distant fourth place.
A memo from March 30, authored by Raffensberger’s campaign manager and obtained by POLITICO, suggests that the Jackson-Jones rivalry offers other candidates an opportunity to focus on policy issues. Raffensberger has chosen to remain above the MAGA fray, maintaining a relatively low profile as he travels the state to engage with voters.
“I have my own lane, and I feel good where we are,” Raffensberger said in an interview. “We travel all over the state, reaching voters, talking to people, making sure that people understand my message is about making sure we keep Georgia affordable and safe, and I’m best positioned to do that at the end of the day.”
Raffensperger is confident in his ability to overcome Trump-backed challengers, having done so before to secure a general election victory.
“I’m going to be in the runoff,” he stated, dismissing any concerns definitively.
