The GOP gubernatorial primary grew even messier this week as the candidates hurled corruption allegations at their opponents and several of the campaigns fought over who can produce the worst AI slop.
Here’s the latest on this fast-moving race to the right:
JONES INTENSIFIES ATTACKS ON JACKSON’S BUSINESS PRACTICES: Jones has launched a new wave of attacks on Jackson, accusing him on social media Thursday of “pocket[ing] over $1 billion in state contracts on the backs of Georgia taxpayers.”
- Jones added that Jackson “wants the Governor’s office to keep the gravy train going. Georgia’s not for sale.”
- Jackson also shot off on Jones’ business practices this week, accusing him on Tuesday of lying about the presence of a planned data center on his family’s property, and followed up with additional attacks on Thursday accusing Jones of “hold[ing] mental health reform hostage for financial gain.”
- Allegations of corruption have featured prominently in this race, and mysterious group Georgians for Integrity continued spending big this week as part of a monthslong $17.3 million effort to attack Jones’ record of self-enrichment in public office.
REPUBLICANS QUALIFY & IMMEDIATELY POUNCE ON EACH OTHER: The candidates used qualifying this week as yet another opportunity to lob pointed personal attacks at each other.
- Upon qualifying, the AJC reported that Jones is taking a more “aggressive” approach against Jackson, and Jones argued the “newness” of Jackson’s campaign will wear off.
- And on Friday, Jackson lobbed attacks at Jones, saying that “Burt Jones is the one that needs the government and his positions for self interest to make money.”
- Carr has intensified his attacks against Jones, Jackson, and Raffensperger, arguing in an interview with the Marietta Daily-Journal and on social media that his Republican rivals are “three really rich guys trying to buy this race.”
- Carr also attacked Jones’ tax plan, saying at a meet-and-greet in Norcross that Jones’ plan doesn’t “make sense” and that Jones will “do away with the economic development that has built this state.”
GOP CANDIDATES ENGAGE IN AI FEUD: The Republican primary went further off the rails this week, with Jackson launching an AI music video Monday that Jones attacked as an attempt “to try and buy the state and prompt ChatGPT when his overpaid consultants run out of ideas.”
- Jackson followed up with an AI-generated video of Burt Jones as Elvis Presley, captioned “Viva La Burt” and calling Jones a “typical career politician.”
- Jones on Tuesday shot back in a social media video, mocking Jackson’s extensive use of AI.
- And Chris Carr got into the action as well, posting a video Tuesday labeling Jones as “small, slow, and not real smart.” Ouch!
ENTIRE GOP FIELD RACES EVEN FURTHER TO THE RIGHT: Jones, Jackson, Carr, and Raffensperger all worked to out-MAGA each other, staking out increasingly unpopular and extreme positions.
- Trump doubled down on his endorsement of Jones this week, filming a video directly from the Oval Office declaring he has “nothing but good to say” about Jones.
- In an interview with the Marietta Daily-Journal, Chris Carr doubled down on his opposition to Medicaid expansion, joining the rest of the field in denying health care to hundreds of thousands of Georgians and jacking up costs in the process.
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