Burt Jones on backing Rick Jackson: ‘We’ll see’
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones still isn’t ready to rally behind billionaire Rick Jackson’s bid for governor.
In his first interview since his bitter defeat in the GOP runoff, Jones wouldn’t say whether he would even vote for Jackson in November and warned that the party’s nominee must repair a fractured GOP foundation before turning to the broader electorate.
“We’ll see,” Jones told the “Politically Georgia” podcast when asked whether he planned to vote for Jackson. “Obviously, I’m interested in supporting and keeping Georgia Republican-run and keeping it red. And I think November is going to be a challenge.”
The remarkable answer underscored the fallout from one of the most vicious Republican primaries in recent Georgia history and raised fresh questions about whether Jackson can reunite the party ahead of a difficult November matchup against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Jones said he remains committed to keeping Georgia under Republican control. But he said Jackson and his allies “alienated” grassroots activists and other longtime GOP loyalists with a torrent of negative advertising that he says portrayed much of the GOP establishment as corrupt.
“You’ve got to think about those people who have been in the trenches for you working for the Republican Party,” he said. “You basically alienate them by saying we’ve all been a bunch of crooks.”
Jones’ comments offered the clearest sign yet that the Republican Party has not yet moved beyond a costly and bruising contest dominated by tens of millions of dollars in attack ads, dueling accusations of corruption and a proxy fight over the party’s direction.
But the Jackson campaign dismissed the notion that there are fences to mend within the GOP.
“We would welcome (Burt Jones’) support, but we know Republicans are united,” Jackson spokesman Garrison Douglas said. “We’re moving forward to face Keisha Lance Bottoms.”
To that point, most of the party establishment quickly closed ranks behind Jackson after his runoff victory, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the third-place finisher, and the entire Senate GOP caucus, which include some of Jones’ top supporters. Jones has conspicuously held back.
He said he has not spoken with Jackson since the runoff and that no one from Jackson’s camp has contacted him to seek his endorsement. Jones said he hasn’t been asked to endorse, nor has he spoken to him since his defeat.
Still, Jones said he would meet with Jackson if the nominee reached out.
“I’ll sit down and talk to him. Look, I’m not bitter,” he said. “You know, life goes on. I’ve taken defeats in my life, personal and business and political. This is not something where I go in, pick up my ball and leave the sandbox.”
He added: “I’ll be happy to talk to them, but you know, I’m not going to engage when I’m not asked to be engaged.”
Still, Jones repeatedly returned to the scars of a campaign that turned unusually personal. Jackson and Jones both have defamation lawsuits pending against each other. And Jones backed a bill in the state Legislature that would have made it difficult for Jackson to stay in the race.
Jones accused Jackson of spending much of the race “trashing me, trashing my family, trashing basically everything that I had done,” and driving down GOP turnout in the process.
“It affects your children — it affects your wife — when it’s being pumped into your living room every day that your daddy is Pablo Escobar,” he said.
Part of Jones’ frustration centered on Georgians for Integrity, a secretive group that spent roughly $20 million attacking Jones, much of it before Jackson entered the race. Jackson has said he wasn’t behind the group, though Jones again rejected that denial.
“That was the Jackson campaign,” Jones said. “I mean, that was his affiliate. I don’t care what anybody says, that was his money.”
His warning comes as Republicans prepare for a challenging midterm election without Gov. Brian Kemp atop the ballot and with Democrats optimistic about electing U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff to a second term and winning the governor’s race for the first time since 1998.
Jones said Republicans first need to “sew up your base” and focus on voters worried about affordability and other pocketbook issues.
But his own stance toward Jackson showed the scale of the reconciliation challenge. When asked what it would take for Jackson to win his endorsement, Jones offered no demands or checklist. He said he has long been able to find common ground with political friends and foes alike.
Jones was also blunt about the scale of his defeat, blaming the size of Jackson’s spending for transforming a race he once believed could be won for $8 million to $10 million.
Instead, Jackson spent more than $108 million of his own money on the race, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Jones estimated that closer to $200 million was ultimately spent against him when outside groups and other spending were included.
“I don’t know how you combat against that,” Jones said. “I don’t care who you are. It’s a headwind.”
Jones said he would have made his early campaign activity more visible if he could do the race again, but he otherwise defended his strategy and his record.
He also said Kemp’s surprise endorsement two days before the runoff might have influenced the outcome had it arrived sooner, though he stressed he wasn’t frustrated with the governor.
“Probably if I’d gotten it a couple of days before, it might be a different story,” Jones said. “But look, you take it when you get it. And we were very happy to have it and very appreciative of the governor and first lady putting their confidence in us.”
For now, Jones said he is enjoying a slower pace after a year on the campaign trail. He wouldn’t say whether he would return to politics, saying he has no long-range plan because “life throws you curveballs all the time.”
But his more immediate political role remains unsettled. Jones said he is willing to campaign for Mike Collins, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, and Greg Dolezal, the party’s pick for lieutenant governor. He also said several Republican allies who have already sought his help. Jackson is not among them.
“Nobody’s reached out,” Jones said. “I haven’t heard anything from that camp.”