GEORGIA — Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will face healthcare executive Rick Jackson in a Republican runoff for Georgia governor on June 16, 2026. The winner will face Keisha Lance Bottoms in the November general election.

State Attorney General Chris Carr and Brad Raffensperger also ran in the Republican primary but did not advance to the runoff. Carr described himself as a "Brian Kemp Republican" in campaign ads, referring to Georgia's Republican governor, who has at times been at odds with Trump.

Jones, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2023, has been endorsed by Trump. In a tele-rally, Trump said: "Everyone's saying I endorsed them. I didn't. I endorsed a man named Burt Jones, your lieutenant governor." He added: "Vote for Burt Jones. He's just an incredible guy who has my complete and total endorsement in the race."

Jones backed Trump early in Trump's first presidential campaign. In a campaign ad, Jones said: "Every one of my Republican opponents has opposed President Trump and the America First agenda at every turn. I fought alongside the president since 2016, cutting taxes, fighting for fair elections, backing law enforcement and keeping boys out of girls' sports." He also said in a campaign ad: "President Trump has looked at this race and he's endorsed one candidate, one proven conservative fighter with a record to back it up."

Federal prosecutors investigated Jones for allegedly serving as a fake elector in a scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Prosecutors declined to charge him in 2024. Trump lost Georgia by about 11,000 votes in 2020 and won the state in the 2024 presidential election.

Jackson, who owns a healthcare company, has not been endorsed by Trump and has compared himself to Trump as a fellow billionaire. Jackson launched his campaign in February 2026. Reports have placed his personal spending on political ads at between $50 million and $80 million since entering the race. Jackson and Jones have spent millions of dollars on television attack ads against each other.

"Georgia's at a crossroads. It's going to take a conservative business leader to shake things up — and to stop Keisha Lance Bottoms from destroying our state," Jackson wrote on X. In another post, he wrote: "Career politicians make promises. I take action, and I'm going to deliver."

Georgia has a Republican-controlled state government and two Democratic U.S. senators.