Georgia gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson is showcasing praise from Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) in a new advertisement as he makes his GOP runoff bid for governor against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Kemp, the Peach State’s popular but term-limited governor, has so far withheld an endorsement in the race for his successor, despite weighing in on the state’s GOP Senate primary by backing Derek Dooley. Kemp’s lack of an endorsement in the gubernatorial race has received more attention after Jackson and Jones became locked in a competitive primary runoff, set for June 16. Adding to the drama in the race is the fact that President Donald Trump, who has had a rocky relationship with Kemp, endorsed Jones.
“If you like Brian Kemp, you’re going to love Rick Jackson,” Jackson’s new ad says.
Kemp has not explicitly ruled out the option of making an endorsement in the race, as Jackson and Jones both seemingly vie for his coveted backing. Jackson, a billionaire businessman running as a political outsider, clipped comments Kemp made in a Politico interview and highlighted them in the 30-second ad.
“Jackson’s been a good supporter of mine. He’s a donor, he’s got a great story. And I’ve kind of felt like, for really two years now, that that race is ripe for political outsiders, especially somebody that can self-fund,” Kemp said in the clipped interview.
But these words were not the equivalent of an endorsement, according to Kemp’s team.
“The only candidate the governor has endorsed in the runoff elections thus far is Derek Dooley, and any insinuation to the contrary is not true,” Garrison Douglas, a Kemp adviser, told the Washington Examiner.
Jackson, who has run a MAGA message campaign without a Trump or Kemp endorsement, placed second in the May 19 primary, earning 32.5% of the vote, as Trump-backed Jones bested the field of GOP candidates with 38.4% of the vote. As Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and state Attorney General Chris Carr fall from the primary field, a Kemp endorsement could help tip the scales in favor of one of the two remaining runoff candidates.
Jones has also been trying to tie himself close to the popular governor, releasing an advertisement in late May highlighting how Jones and Kemp have worked together at the helm of the Peach State.
“Governor Kemp and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones have delivered for Georgia together. They’ve created good-paying jobs, suspended Georgia’s gas tax, lowered the state income tax, and are helping Georgia seniors afford to stay in their homes. Burt Jones has worked closely with Brian Kemp and is endorsed by President Trump,” Jones’s 30-second ad from late May said.
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If Kemp backed Jackson, Kemp and Trump would split their endorsements for a proxy battle between the governor’s mansion and the White House. But if Kemp endorsed Jones, it would significantly boost Jones’s name, giving him the backing of two Republican politicians who are incredibly popular in the Georgia GOP.
Early voting in the primary runoff begins on Monday.