FRIDAY FIREWORKS: Billionaire Rick Jackson Wastes No Time Attacking Republican Rivals as GOP Race for Governor Becomes Much More MAGA, Expensive, and Chaotic
This week, billionaire Rick Jackson launched his $50 million campaign for governor, wasting no time attacking “so-called frontrunner” Burt Jones as “lazy as the day is long” and launched a brutal ad (appealing to Donald Trump and running in DC) calling Brad Raffensperger “Judas.” With Jackson’s entry, this GOP primary got a lot more MAGA as the candidates continue racing to the right in what has become nothing more than a hard-and-fast Trump loyalty test.
Here’s the latest on this messy and expensive GOP race for governor:
JACKSON WASTES NO TIME ATTACKING JONES, RAFFENSPERGER: In both his first campaign speech and initial ad launch, Jackson wasted no time attacking his GOP rivals Burt Jones and Brad Raffensperger, adding to the brutal infighting that has defined this race.
- In his very first speech of the campaign, Jackson brutally attacked Jones, saying: “I saw a so-called front runner who is weak as can be and lazy as the day is long. […] He wants the title of governor, but not the job.”
- Jackson’s entry into the race clearly rattled Jones, whose campaign told The Georgia Recorder: “The Never-Trump lane just got way more expensive and way more crowded.”
- Jackson also quickly went after Raffensperger, launching an ad accusing Raffensperger of being a modern-day Judas Iscariot.
REPUBLICAN-BACKED ECONOMIC POLICIES ARE HURTING GEORGIA: As the GOP candidates continue to back Trump’s failed economic agenda, a new report revealed that Georgia saw the highest number of layoff announcements in the entire country in the month of January.
- Georgia saw a staggering 31,415 job cuts, and as Republicans across the country continue to inflict economic chaos, job losses surged to their highest January levels since the 2009 recession.
- This also comes as new reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals the harmful effects of Trump’s tariff tax increases on Georgia businesses and workers, which the leading GOP candidates for governor have consistently supported.
- One small business owner called these tariffs a “gut punch,” and another shared: “[These tariffs] make for such an uncertain business climate for small businesses. […] Small businesses have a hard time adjusting to and weathering these ups and downs, these price increases. It’s very difficult for us to plan for it and to budget for it.”
THE GOP PRIMARY JUST GOT A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE: With billionaire Rick Jackson’s entry into the GOP gubernatorial primary, this race just got a lot more MAGA, a lot more chaotic – and a hell of a lot more expensive, with Jackson planning to spend $50 million to disrupt the race between Burt Jones, Brad Raffensperger, and Chris Carr.
- Jackson is already booking more than $3 million in TV ads for this week alone, buying up ad space in media markets all across the state.
- Jackson also booked a strategic ad buy in the Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach media markets, in what the AJC wrote could be an attempt to “[break] through to an audience of one in the White House” and cleave President Trump’s current endorsement of Burt Jones in the race.
- Burt Jones is now swinging back with his first ad buy of the campaign cycle, in what could emerge as an expensive ad war between the two GOP candidates.
DARK MONEY MYSTERY INTENSIFIES: Dark money has flooded Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial primary. Now, new data reveals that the mysterious group Georgians for Integrity has spent $13.5 million in just the past few months attacking Jones’ long record of self-enrichment in public office – and has no plans to stop.
- The AJC noted that “many top Republicans are already pointing fingers” at Jackson for the $13.5 million ad blitz.
- Jones has gone full MAGA to defend himself against the wave of attacks, having announced his full support for Trump’s FBI raid and also recently tweeting three different times highlighting his “complete and total” endorsement from Trump.
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