LG Burt Jones, with Trump front and center, enters gov race
LG makes gov bid official
Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones on Tuesday launched his long-expected bid for governor on a platform closely aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a 2-minute launch video, the Republican touted bringing “real conservative leadership” to the state’s second-highest office, which presides over business in the state senate. He also leaned into his background as a team captain at Georgia’s famed football program.
“Burt Jones has worked closely with President Trump helping Georgia Make America Great Again,” the narrator said.
“What do I call all that we’ve accomplished together? Just the start,” Jones said from behind the wheel of a Dodge Ram pickup truck. “Because our work is not done yet. That’s why I’m running for governor.”
Jones was elected lieutenant governor in 2022. Prior to that, the Butts County native spent roughly a decade as a state senator, where he was one of the first Georgia politicians to support then-New York businessman Donald Trump’s 2016 bid for the White House. He also helped echo claims of nefarious activities at the ballot box during the 2020 election.
Lt. Gov. Jones is the second Republican to enter the race. State Attorney General Chris Carr entered the race last November to try and get a head start on raising money for what is sure to be an expensive contest. And Jones comes with several fundraising weapons at his disposal: a family fortune in the petroleum industry and a new state law that allows some candidates to raise unlimited sums of cash through leadership committees.
His bid for governor was one of the worst-kept secrets in the Gold Dome, with his name being floated as a possible contender for the open contest before he was even elected lieutenant governor. And the jockeying to fill his spot in the senate dais has been underway for months, with some of the chamber’s most powerful members looking to succeed him as LG.
It could also set up an internal fissure between the Republican Party’s warring factions: establishment-minded conservatives who want to maintain the status quo and a Trump-aligned MAGA wing that’s always ready to shake things up.
Jones says he’s ready for a tough fight.
“Burt Jones tried out for the [Georgia] Bulldogs as a walk-on. Burt not only made the team, but he went on to become a captain on one of Georgia’s championship teams.”
He says he is “running for governor with that same attitude.”