It’s officially been two weeks since Rick Jackson became the GOP nominee for governor – and in the latest sign of turmoil roiling through the party, Burt Jones has still not endorsed Jackson.
Jackson himself confirmed on Friday that Jones “has not called” and that they “haven’t talked yet.” This comes as GOP leaders and activists are “openly skeptical” about Jackson’s candidacy, with the AJC reporting that “most Georgia Senate Republicans are following [Jones’] lead and withholding their endorsements from Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson.”
This deep division follows months of attacks between the two, in which they accused each other of blatant corruption and self-enrichment on the backs of Georgians. While Jackson prevailed, Georgians won’t be able to forget the baggage he’s bringing to the general election.
- Jones repeatedly called Jackson a “fraud” and accused him of getting “rich off a Medicare kickback scam targeting Georgia’s seniors and pocketed nearly a billion dollars in no-bid taxpayer contracts.”
- In March, Jones took to the Senate floor to attack Rick Jackson and his billion-dollar health care company, calling it the “culprit of our health care costs in this state more than tripling” and accusing it of “monopolizing” the health care industry.
- Jones consistently attacked Jackson for trying to “buy [Georgians’] vote,” said that Jackson is “scared voters will find out about his record,” and in the last few days of the campaign, even accused him of “stalking” Georgians.
While facing divisions within his party, Jackson ducked the Georgia Republicans’ 250 Rodeo and was notably absent from the trail for more than a week following the runoff election– not holding a public event for nine consecutive days.
“Rick Jackson has managed to single-handedly split the Georgia GOP, and all the money in the world can’t put it back together,” said Democratic Party of Georgia spokesperson Jake Strickland. “Burt Jones and Rick Jackson aren’t even on speaking terms, and while tensions continue to boil over, Democrats are united firmly behind Keisha Lance Bottoms and her vision of lowering costs, expanding healthcare, and investing in Georgians’ education.”
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