Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson formally backed Donald Trump’s comeback bid, saying Monday he is supporting the former president because he’s the “only candidate who can win” next year.
Thompson is the third Republican statewide official in Georgia to endorse Trump who leads in state and national polls of likely GOP voters. Thompson, a former state senator, was elected to the state post in 2022.
Most top Georgia Republicans have until recently stayed neutral in the White House race, reluctant to back a former president who championed primary challenges against Gov. Brian Kemp and three other GOP incumbents.
But with the Iowa caucuses less than a month away – and Georgia’s March 12 primary looming – more state Republican leaders are taking sides.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Public Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald earlier gave their blessing to Trump, along with a handful of U.S. House members. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, meanwhile, is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ highest-profile Georgia supporter.
For his part, Kemp has said he’s likely to endorse a candidate close to the primary, though he has said he’ll support Trump if he’s the nominee.
Thompson said he’s endorsing Trump because “he has proven that as a businessman he knows how to get our economy moving in the right direction.”
“I’m not the type of person who stays on the sidelines,” he said, “and I won’t sit idly by and watch Joe Biden continue to drive us into the ditch.”
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