Attack ads explode into real life in Georgia GOP governor debate
You had to know the first and likely last debate featuring Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson would be brutal.
After all, the two Republicans have spent more than $80 million battering each other on the airwaves. But Monday’s Atlanta Press Club debate was even more ruthless than expected.
Jackson struggled through parts of the hourlong showdown, facing attacks not only from Jones but from other rivals eager to puncture his outsider image.
And he handed Jones a campaign gift when he failed to directly answer whether he or his company employed workers who are living in the country illegally.
Jones faced sharp accusations of his own. Jackson accused him of demanding six-figure donations from lawmakers and using his influence to scuttle legislation from anyone who backed his rivals.
Attorney General Chris Carr, another candidate for governor, went further, saying that if he weren’t running against Jones, he would likely launch a state investigation.
Meanwhile, Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger cast the Jones-Jackson feud as a stifling grudge match and argued Republicans need another option.
The long-shot contender on the eight-candidate stage tried to break through, too, offering their own arguments on election policy, artificial intelligence and the high cost of living.
Here are the takeaways:
Jackson’s setbacks
Since his surprise February campaign launch, Jackson has been ubiquitous: blanketing the airwaves, holding town halls across the state and landing media attention.
But Monday marked his first debate. And it showed.
Jackson stumbled through several exchanges and suffered his most damaging moment when Jones pressed him over a New York Post story citing court documents that detail a failure vet the citizenship status of workers at his metro Atlanta estate.
“You don’t have illegals working for you right now?” Jones asked twice.
“I don’t know,” Jackson said, pausing for a beat before saying that his healthcare firm and other companies hire thousands of people a year. “We obey the laws.”
Jones saw an opening: “It’s just a yes or no answer. I asked him if he has illegals working for him right now, and he said he did and then he said he didn’t.”
After the debate, the Jackson campaign said “it’s just like a corrupt politician to attack Rick over someone hired by his landscaper.”
But the damage was done. Jones got an exchange that he’ll surely replay in ads.
A corruption bombshell
Jones didn’t escape unscathed.
In a stunning move, Jackson accused the lieutenant governor from the stage without evidence of blocking legislation from Republicans who backed his rivals and demanding “up to $100,000 in campaign contributions just to have a meeting.”
Carr seconded the criticism, saying he had heard similar concerns about Jones using his office to benefit his campaign and his family business interests.
“I’ll be honest. If I wasn’t running in this race, there’s enough out there that I would have started an investigation. I would have,” Carr said. “But because I’m running, I think that would be inappropriate.”
He added: “I think it’s wrong. I think it’s unethical. And if true, I think it’s illegal.”
Jones flatly denied it, pointing to two House Republicans who aren’t backing the lieutenant governor who still got legislation through.
“There was nobody holding anybody’s feet to the fire,” Jones said.
Then he turned back to Jackson: “You don’t know how to tell the truth, but you do it with a straight face. I gotta give it to you.”
An anti-Jones alliance emerged
For parts of the debate, Carr, Jackson and Raffensperger found common cause in targeting Jones.
Carr asked Jackson a friendly question about how Jones could loan his campaign $20 million after reporting a net worth of roughly half that amount. Jackson gladly took the opening, saying the math didn’t add up. Jones said he donated to his campaign to let voters know he, too, has “skin in the game.”
Raffensperger also framed the Jones-Jackson fight as a mutually destructive brawl, saying each had spent millions telling voters damaging truths about the other.
While the attacks showed Jones remains the candidate much of the field is trying to stop, they also showed risks for his rivals. The more time they spent on Jones, the more he remained the center of the debate.
Carr tries to break from the pack
As he has throughout the campaign, Carr tried to position himself as the alternative to the Jones-Jackson melee.
He repeatedly cast himself as the candidate focused on November, arguing Republicans need a nominee who can appeal to independents and keep the race centered on jobs, public safety and affordability.
One of his sharpest moments came when asked whether the Justice Department should ever be used to target political opponents. He warned against political prosecutions if the facts don’t meet muster.
“Look, we’ve got to stop the lawfare situation,” he said. “Going after our political opponents, whether it’s at the federal level, state, local level, it’s got to stop.”
Raffensperger looks to the future
Raffensperger entered the debate trying to make the governor’s race about affordability, jobs and school safety, not the 2020 election fight that made him a national figure.
When asked directly whether he made a mistake by certifying Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia despite pressure from President Donald Trump and other Republicans, Raffensperger did not apologize or retreat. But he also didn’t linger on it.
“No,” he said, before pivoting quickly to cost-of-living concerns and Georgia’s economic future.
Later, when rival Gregg Kirkpatrick accused Georgia of being a “laughingstock” over election integrity, Raffensperger responded by citing outside praise for the state’s voting system and then again steered the conversation back to affordability.
About the Author
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.
