November 8, 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump has endorsed Burt Jones' Republican bid for governor in Georgia, a boost to the incumbent lieutenant governor's effort to set himself up as the 2026 frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
Trump announced the nod Monday, noting that Jones was among the first Georgia Republicans to endorse Trump's first bid for the White House in 2016 and saying Jones “worked tirelessly to help us win” in all three of Trump's bids.
“He has been with us from the very beginning,” Trump wrote on social media. “I know his family well and have seen Burt tested at the most difficult levels and times.”
Republicans, including Attorney General Chris Carr, are vying with Jones to be their party's nominee to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who can’t run again because of term limits. Other Republican candidates who could enter the race include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“We’re fighting for election integrity, lower taxes, and to secure Georgia values — and with Trump’s support, we’re just getting started,” Jones wrote online Monday.
But Carr has argued he is better positioned to win a general election.
Republicans have won every governor’s election since 2002 in Georgia, even as the state has become more competitive. Top Democrats seeking to end GOP dominance include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves, former labor commissioner Michael Thurmond, and state Rep. Derrick Jackson.
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