Here’s how Rick Jackson spent $108 million in the Republican race for governor

Republican Rick Jackson shattered spending records in Georgia by spending $108 million of his own money into his campaign for governor.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis shows the executive spent roughly three-quarters of that — more than $83 million — on television and cable advertising.

The spending allowed Jackson to dominate the airwaves and overcome Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ support among conservative activists and President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

It also offers an early blueprint for how Jackson could deploy his fortune against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms as he begins raising money from outsider donors in earnest for the first time. He donated more than $111 million to his campaign so far, spending more than $108 million of it.

The spending was extraordinary not only because of its size but because of how concentrated it was. More than $62 million in television and cable advertising flowed through Alexandria, Virginia-based Smart Media Group. Ballast, of Delaware, received more than $18 million.

Together, the two firms accounted for the bulk of Jackson’s itemized television spending.

Television wasn’t the campaign’s only weapon. At least $19 million was spent on direct mail, campaign signs, billboards, radio and newspaper advertising and other get-out-the-vote efforts, according to campaign finance reports.

Two vendors dominated that category. GMRP received roughly $14 million, much of it for direct mail. Quiver received roughly $5.7 million, financing mailers, campaign signs and other expenses. Smart Media Group received another $750,000 for radio ads.

The filings show a campaign built less around a traditional staff than a network of outside consultants, media firms and vendors to carry Jackson’s message across the state. He reported about $209,000 in staff salaries for roughly two dozen employees, some of them recent hires.

Jackson also assembled an experienced team of Republican consultants, including longtime Georgia strategist Brian Robinson, whose Robinson Republic firm received about $50,000 after joining the campaign in March.

Other consulting firms received larger payments, including roughly $200,000 paid to Crosby Ottenhoff Group and more than $125,000 that went to AJ Strategies. Veteran operative Michael Schrimpf received $90,000 in consulting fees.

The campaign spent about $2.7 million on polling and survey research and roughly $2.1 million on phone banks. Another $500,000 was spent on legal fees, mostly with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.

Jackson’s opponents have long tried to turn his spending into a liability, mocking his prodigious spending as a wasteful boondoggle.

Bottoms has cast him as just another wealthy wannabe trying to buy influence, comparing him to Georgia’s version of Elon Musk, the trillionaire with close ties to Trump.

“No matter if you are a billionaire or a gazillionaire, you still get one vote,” she said.

Bottoms, by comparison, spent about $2.6 million to win her party’s nomination.

Jones made a similar argument during the GOP runoff, airing ads accusing Jackson of trying to “buy our vote.”

Jackson has embraced the contrast, proudly noting his $3 billion net worth on state campaign finance disclosures with only enough room for nine digits.