Rick Jackson’s Georgia win is an embarrassing blemish on Trump’s record
President Donald Trump’s primary victory spree has a new $100 million asterisk.
That’s the record-breaking sum the upstart self-funding businessman Rick Jackson spent to defeat Trump’s chosen candidate in the GOP primary for Georgia governor. Jackson’s flood of ads helped drown out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other Republicans up and down the ballot, as the billionaire tried to convince voters that he didn’t need Trump’s explicit endorsement to be a true MAGA warrior. In the end, his pitch worked, through persuasion or sheer force.
Tuesday’s result is the latest embarrassing and high-profile blemish in what had been a near-perfect record this year for the president. Just two weeks ago, another Trump-backed candidate — Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa — failed to win his gubernatorial race. And across the map Tuesday he saw mixed success.
Trump-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore cruised in his Alabama Senate runoff, though he had help from a pro-crypto super PAC that spent millions. Trump’s picks in two Oklahoma races are headed to runoffs after failing to surpass 50 percent of the vote in crowded primaries. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) won the Senate runoff to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, but it was far from a blowout victory and Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement makes it hard to give him full credit for the win.
"The Trump endorsement has an effect, but it's not overwhelming. It's not the end-all-be-all for politics in Georgia," said Jason Shepherd, the former Cobb County Republican chair who supported Jackson in the race.
Jones supporters and Trump allies were quick to blame Jackson’s cash — but some in the lieutenant governor’s orbit also suggested the president didn’t do enough to hit Jackson.
“[Trump] absolutely moved the needle. He just moved the needle 15 points when we needed him to move the needle 25 points,” said a Georgia operative who backed Jones and was granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics of the race candidly.
Trump endorsed Jones early in a crowded race. But while Trump often unloads against his political rivals, he was notably quiet on Jackson, even as he chipped away at Jones’ lead in the polls.
Jackson, a onetime Trump-skeptic turned MAGA ally and Trump donor, tied himself closely to the president on the campaign trail, repeatedly insisting he would be “Trump’s favorite governor.”
“I feel pretty certain that there's never been a candidate that the president endorsed that got outspent by $90 million in the primary,” said a second GOP operative who supported Jones. Still, the person acknowledged: "If you're a Jones supporter, you would have loved if the president would have said something bad about Rick Jackson.”
Trump brought Jones on stage at an official White House event in February in the northwestern corner of the state and appeared on a pair of telerallies, but some Jones supporters questioned Tuesday night whether he could have done more to boost his candidacy amid the onslaught of spending from Jackson.
“I'm the only candidate who doesn't owe a thing to the political establishment,” Jackson said in his election night victory speech. “I don't care what special interests want, how much they beg, how much they give me. I can't be bought, and I won't back down.”
The acknowledgement from some Jones supporters that Trump could have done more to boost his preferred candidate could be a warning in other GOP primaries.
Polling in next week’s South Carolina gubernatorial runoff shows Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette struggling to hold onto her lead as other Republicans in the state rally behind her opponent. In Louisiana, GOP Rep. Julia Letlow succeeded in ousting a Trump foe in Sen. Bill Cassidy, but still needs to defeat state Treasurer John Fleming — also a MAGA ally — in the Senate runoff later this month. And in Oklahoma, Trump’s candidates may need some extra juice from the president to win their August runoffs.
Even before voters hit the polls on Tuesday, Trump-world was working to paint a Jackson win as a win for the movement.
“No matter who wins tomorrow, it’s a victory for MAGA,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X Monday afternoon.
Some Trump-world advisers privately scoffed at Jackson’s massive spending and the lengths his campaign and supporters went to project alignment with the president despite not receiving his endorsement. Some of the efforts drew notice among Trump-world advisers, including a mailer that featured a photo of Jackson and the president alongside the line: “Businessmen. Outsiders. Men of action,” as well as a digital video that highlighted Jackson’s $1 million donation to Trump’s political operation.
“Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer level money in a state the fraction the size of California,” a Trump political operative said. “That’s going to have an impact.”
The president himself didn’t seem to sweat the loss.
“I HAD A LOT OF BIG ELECTION WINS LAST NIGHT. THANK YOU TO ALL!!!” Trump said on Truth Social early Wednesday morning. Just a few minutes later, he worked to take at least some credit for Jackson’s win.
“Congratulations to Rick Jackson, who very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won,” Trump wrote.
