(The Center Square) – Georgia second-term Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican gubernatorial primary runoff on Sunday night, calling him a strong, trusted ally.
Jones is in a heated primary runoff with businessman Rick Jackson, who is running a commercial featuring Kemp complimenting him. The winner of Tuesday’s runoff will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, who won her primary without a runoff.
“Burt knows how to get things done as governor because that’s what he has done as a state senator and as your lieutenant governor,” Kemp said in the post. “The hardest part about being governor is making decisions that aren’t always popular or easy. I’ve worked alongside Burt for nearly 15 years and I’m confident that he will always put hardworking Georgians first.”
Jones said it was time for the Republican Party to come together.
“When I receive an endorsement it’s because the person knows me, they know my proven conservative record, they know my work ethic, and they know when I say I’m going to do something, I do it,” Jones said. “Which is why I am honored to have the endorsement of Gov. Brian Kemp.”
Jackson picked up an endorsement from Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. He said Jackson could win in November, “and we need to win in November.”
President Donald Trump endorsed Jones in 2025, before Jackson entered the governor’s race.
The president also endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins over the weekend. Collins is facing former Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley, son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.
Trump called Collins a “warrior and winner.”
“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump said. “Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”
The winner of the runoff between Collins and Dooley will face Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
