Lt. Gov. Burt Jones hasn’t formally entered the race for governor yet, but he raised more than $2 million over the last seven months as the Republican prepares an expected bid for Georgia’s top job.
Jones disclosed he has more than $3 million in cash on hand days after Attorney General Chris Carr reported he collected nearly $2.2 million during a roughly 40-day span after he launched his campaign for governor in November.
The strong numbers for both highlight how competitive the wide-open race to replace Gov. Brian Kemp is shaping up to be.
Much of Jones’ cash was raised through a leadership committee, a financial vehicle created by a GOP-backed law that has already reshaped Georgia politics.
The 2021 law allows Jones to use the committee to raise unlimited contributions and continue fundraising through the legislative session — when state officials, including him, would otherwise be barred.
Carr doesn’t have that advantage — the law doesn’t include a carve-out for his office — so he scrambled to raise as much as possible between launching his bid in mid-November and the session’s Jan. 10 start.
Jones has amassed his seven-figure haul without devoting much time to raising campaign donations.
As an executive in a family-run petroleum and insurance business, he can partly self-finance his campaign. And like Kemp, he insists his focus remains on the legislative session rather than his political future.
Still, Jones’ role as president of the Georgia Senate, which gives him significant influence over which measures reach a vote, has made him a magnet for donations from well-connected lobbyists and trade groups.
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