Morning Digest: Trump's pick for Georgia governor has another rich guy nipping at his heels

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones thought he had the inside track. Then Rick Jackson started spending millions.

(credit: Burt Jones ad)

Leading Off

GA-Gov

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had long looked like the leading candidate in the GOP primary for Georgia’s open governorship, launched his opening ad campaign on Monday, less than a week after a well-heeled rival unexpectedly emerged to challenge his dominance.

That new opponent is healthcare executive Rick Jackson, who announced last Tuesday that he would join the race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican who cannot seek a third term. Saying he would put in at least $50 million of his own money, Jackson quickly set to work undermining Jones and the rest of the primary field.

“I saw a so-called front-runner who was weak as can be and as lazy as the day is long,” Jackson said of the lieutenant governor at his campaign launch. “He really wants the title of governor, but not the job.”

Jackson was even more aggressive in trashing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is also competing in the May 19 primary. On the first day of his campaign, Jackson drew immediate attention when he began running an ad comparing Raffensperger, who withstood pressure from Donald Trump to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state, to Judas Iscariot.

Jackson hasn’t been as vocal in bashing Attorney General Chris Carr, the fourth and final major GOP candidate, but he’s found a different way to weaken him. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that one of Carr’s longtime strategists told him Friday that he was leaving his team to join Jackson.

The paper adds that Jackson, who has not previously run for office, has already spent $4 million on ads to introduce himself to voters. But this effort, which included a Super Bowl commercial that the GOP firm Medium Buying says cost $500,000 to run, isn’t entirely aimed at Georgia voters.

Jackson has also aired some of these ads in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida—locales that Trump just happens to spend much of his time in. MAGA’s master backed Jones back in August, though Trump has frequently bestowed his “complete and total endorsement” to a second choice in other races.

But Jones, who has spent more than two months on the receiving end of almost $14 million worth of attack ads by a still-mysterious outside group, is now taking action to make sure Trump doesn’t decide to hedge his bets.

The lieutenant governor has begun what Politico characterizes as a “seven-figure ad campaign,” and he uses his opening commercial to highlight the fact that he’s Trump’s pick.

“[T]oday, breaking news,” the narrator says before the ad plays six-month-old clips of journalists talking about Trump’s then-new endorsement. The audience is later treated to footage of Trump saying that Jones is “going to make a great, great governor” and “has my complete and total endorsement.”

“You’ll be very happy, Georgia,” he concludes.

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Just three weeks from today, we’ll hit the start of primary season, with elections in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas. That marks the start of a six-month marathon in which both parties will pick candidates for (quite literally) tens of thousands of political offices across the country.

To make sure you can stay on top of it all, we encourage you to bookmark our 2026 election calendar, which includes dates for every candidate filing deadline, primary, and runoff. And if you appreciate our commitment to producing clean, easy-to-understand, and accurate resources like this one, then we hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription.

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Why the GOP is right to freak out after Texas

Governors

AK-Gov

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who never quite ruled out a bid for governor, told CNN’s Manu Raju on Sunday that she would “continue to serve Alaskans” in the Senate rather than join the jam-packed race to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

CA-Gov

Sen. Adam Schiff on Monday endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the many Democrats competing in the June 2 top-two primary for California’s open governorship.

Schiff and Swalwell, who served together in the House for more than a decade, both drew national attention when they served as managers for Donald Trump’s impeachment trials. Schiff held that role during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, while Swalwell did the same in 2021.

Schiff, who was elected to the Senate in 2024, highlighted that bond in a statement declaring that Swalwell “will fight to protect our values, rights and freedoms.”

MI-Gov

Businessman Kevin Rinke said on Friday that he would not join the Republican primary for governor and openly questioned whether the GOP was capable of uniting behind a single standard-bearer. Just two days later, Rinke’s doubts about his party’s unity came into vivid focus on Super Bowl Sunday.

“The issue is whether the Republican Party is ready to win,” Rinke, who took second place in the 2022 primary, told WKAR. “I won’t invest time and treasure if the party won’t come together. If your candidate loses and you don’t vote, you lose every time.”

During that same interview, Rinke said that wealthy businessman Perry Johnson “can outspend everyone tenfold,” and he just showed he’s willing to do precisely that.

Johnson reportedly spent $3 million to air ads during the Super Bowl pre-game broadcast urging viewers to skip the halftime show headlined by Puerto Rican rap sensation Bad Bunny and instead tune in to a competing performance sponsored by the conservative group Turning Points USA featuring white country rocker Kid Rock.

The gambit failed on multiple levels. TPUSA’s YouTube channel indicates that its counter-programming racked up some 20 million views, while the Super Bowl show reportedly reached a record-breaking audience of 135 million.

But much worse for Johnson, 90 minutes before kickoff, Kid Rock endorsed Rep. John James for governor.

MN-Gov

Former state Sen. Scott Jensen abandoned his bid for the GOP nomination for governor on Monday and said instead that he’d run for state auditor.

Jensen was part of a large Republican field seeking Minnesota’s open governorship, but after Democratic Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term and Sen. Amy Klobuchar entered the race, he began to express doubts.

“I’m not certain that I do see myself as the best candidate to run against her in the general election,” Jensen, who lost to Walz in 2022, told the National Journal Hotline last week. Ironically, a poll last week from SurveyUSA that pitted Klobuchar against 10 different Republicans found Jensen trailing by the smallest margin, but he was still behind by a daunting 49-35 spread.

NH-Gov

Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern is “seriously considering” a bid against Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, reports the New Hampshire Union Leader’s Kevin Landrigan, and has spoken both with the DGA and potential staffers.

The developments seem to represent something of a shift for McEachern, who had “expressed a sense of reluctance” late last year when asked about a bid by the Boston Globe. Democrats have yet to land a major candidate to take on Ayotte, though in addition to McEachern, a few others are weighing the race.

NY-Gov

Three headlines from the Times Union tell the story of a chaotic day for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor of New York:

• Early Monday morning: “Blakeman picks Fulton County Sheriff Giardino as running mate.”

• Late Monday morning: “Blakeman’s pick of Fulton County sheriff as running mate falls through.”

• Monday afternoon: “Blakeman picks Madison County sheriff as running mate.”

As of press time, Blakeman’s second pick had not fallen through.

House

FL-16

Christian charter school founder Eddie Speir, who lost a primary challenge to Rep. Vern Buchanan in 2024, is back for another try now that Buchanan is retiring, making him the first notable Republican in the race.

In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis nominated Speir to the New College board of trustees in his quest to push the school’s leadership far to the right. But the GOP-dominated state Senate declined to hold a vote on his appointment after he told lawmakers, “I have to start with the truth that Jesus Christ is the way of the truth and the life, everything else comes from there, articulated in the Bible.”

One Jewish senator, Democrat Tina Polsky, responded, “What about the rest of us who don’t believe in Jesus Christ?” The Senate approved DeSantis’ other nominees for the board but let Speier’s nomination die.

Soon after, Speir announced a bid against Buchanan in the conservative 16th District, located in the Tampa suburbs. He dumped $500,000 of his own money into his campaign, but Buchanan hung on by a 61-39 margin—not dominant for an incumbent in a primary, but not close, either.

A large number of other GOP names have been floated, though most politicos seem to be waiting to hear from RNC chair Joe Gruters or his wife, Sydney Gruters—who, as it happens, is executive director of the fundraising arm of New College.

GA-11

Physician John Cowan, whose unsuccessful campaign for public office in 2020 gave rise to Marjorie Taylor Greene, announced on Monday that he’d wage another bid for Congress—but in a different district.

Cowan is now the first notable Republican seeking Georgia’s conservative 11th District, which became open last week when Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk announced his retirement. But six years ago, he ran in the neighboring 14th District against Greene, whose history of racist and antisemitic ravings came to light after the first round of the GOP primary but before the runoff.

While Republican leaders in Washington professed their disgust, they did little to halt Greene’s rise. Cowan pitched himself with the slogan, “All of the conservative, none of the embarrassment,” but primary voters made it clear they wanted both and handed Greene a resounding 57-43 victory.

Cowan had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the upcoming special election to replace the now-departed Greene in the 14th but never expressed interest. However, bigger names are likely to join him in the race to succeed Loudermilk.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that “[m]uch of the focus is now on” former state Sen. Brandon Beach, who currently holds the role of United States Treasurer. The paper adds, though, that should Beach stay on the sidelines, Woodstock Mayor Michael Caldwell could get in.

GA-14, TX-21

The deep-pocketed Club for Growth has gotten behind two Republican candidates who both earned Donald Trump’s blessing last week: Lookout Mountain District Attorney Clay Fuller, who’s running in the March 10 special election for Georgia’s vacant 14th District, and former Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is seeking Texas’ open 21st District.

IN-07

Attorney Destiny Wells filed paperwork with the state on Friday to challenge Democratic Rep. Andre Carson for renomination in Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, a move that came on the last day for candidates to file for the May 5 primary ballot.

Wells, who was the Democratic nominee for secretary of state in 2022 and attorney general in 2024, wrote the next day that she’d decided to oppose Carson because he had blocked her from becoming state party chair last year. The newcomer framed her campaign as a challenge to the party establishment.

Wells joins Democratic strategist George Hornedo, who began running against Carson last April, in the Democratic primary for Indiana’s only safely blue congressional district. Hornedo, though, ended 2025 with less than $30,000 in the bank, while Carson had about $650,000 to defend himself in this Indianapolis-based constituency.

LA-05

Republican state Rep. Dixon McMakin dropped out of the primary for Louisiana’s open 5th Congressional District on Monday, less than two weeks after joining the race.

The contest was transformed in the brief time between McMakin’s arrival and departure when state Sen. Blake Miguez announced he would run rather than continue his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Donald Trump quickly endorsed Miguez’s new venture.

Candidate filing closes Friday in the Pelican State.

NY-12

Retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler has endorsed Assemblyman Micah Lasher in the crowded Democratic primary to succeed him, while the New York Times reported on Saturday that Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi would give her backing to political commentator Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy. However, as of Monday evening, Pelosi had yet to do so.

The primary for New York’s safely blue 12th District could grow more crowded still. Radio host Dean Obeidallah said over the weekend that he, too, is considering a bid.

NV-02

Several Nevada Republicans are considering running for the conservative 2nd District, but one familiar name may have the inside track to replace retiring Rep. Mark Amodei.

Sam Brown, an Army veteran who lost a close 2024 race to unseat Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, hasn’t said anything publicly about his interest in running for the House, but Politico’s Megan Messerly writes that there’s plenty of chatter surrounding him.

An unnamed source close to the White House says that Brown, whom Donald Trump appointed to a post in the Department of Veterans Affairs last year, is viewed as the “likely candidate” to receive Trump’s endorsement should he run.

A few other Republicans are also in the mix.

Attorney Joey Gilbert, a former professional boxer who has said that he was “definitely on the Capitol steps” on Jan. 6, has publicly expressed interest in replacing Amodei.

One powerful Republican, though, would probably be quite happy to never hear from Gilbert again. Gilbert sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2022 but responded to his 38-27 defeat against Joe Lombardo by saying that he “100% believes he received the most votes.” He then filed a predictably unsuccessful lawsuit while Lombardo went on to narrowly win the general election.

An unnamed source separately informs the Nevada Independent’s Mini Racker that Air Force veteran Tony Grady, who took a distant fourth place against Brown in the 2024 Senate primary, is “very interested” in running for Amodei’s seat.

Racker also mentions former Assemblymember Ken Gray and Douglas County Commissioner Danny Tarkanian as possibilities, though neither appears to have expressed interest. Tarkanian, who unsuccessfully challenged Amodei for renomination in 2022 during one of his many failed campaigns, is currently running for attorney general.

A couple of Republicans, however, have taken their names out of contention. Former Attorney General Adam Laxalt said Friday that he wouldn’t run, while state Sen. Ira Hansen took the weekend to consider before reaching the same decision on Monday.

TX-18

Former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards has suspended her campaign to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District for a full term after her landslide loss to fellow Democrat Christian Menefee last month.

Edwards’ name will, however, remain on the ballot for the March 3 Democratic primary, which will pit Menefee against longtime Rep. Al Green, who switched races after Republicans dismantled his old 9th District.

The revamped 18th, however, is also considerably different from the district Menefee just won. Only around a quarter of its residents hail from the old 18th, according to calculations by The Downballot, while more than 60% previously lived in Green’s district.

Should neither Green nor Menefee secure a majority in next month’s primary, they would head to a runoff on May 26. The winner of the Democratic nomination is all but guaranteed to prevail in the general election as well.

Election Law

Arizona

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a new bill into law on Friday that moves Arizona’s primary up from Aug. 4 to July 21 and permanently schedules future primaries for the second-to-last Tuesday in July. Previously, they had been held on the first Tuesday in August. The candidate filing deadline will also be two weeks earlier, on March 23 instead of April 6.

Keep tabs on the filing deadlines and primary dates for every state with our bookmarkable 2026 election calendar.

Poll Pile

• TX-Sen (R): University of Houston/YouGov: Ken Paxton: 38, John Cornyn (inc): 31, Wesley Hunt: 17. The poll was conducted Jan. 20-31.

• TX-Sen (R runoffs): UH/YouGov:

  • Paxton: 51, Cornyn (inc): 40.

  • Paxton: 56, Hunt: 33.

  • Cornyn (inc): 46, Hunt: 39.

• TX-Sen (D): UH/YouGov: Jasmine Crockett (D): 47, James Talarico: 39, Ahmad Hassan: 2.

• TX-Sen: UH/YouGov:

  • Paxton (R): 45, Crockett (D): 43, Ted Brown (Libertarian): 4.

  • Paxton (R): 46, Talarico (D): 44, Brown (L): 3.

  • Cornyn (R-inc): 45, Crockett (D): 43, Brown (L): 5.

  • Cornyn (R-inc): 44, Talarico (D): 43, Brown (L): 5.

  • Hunt (R): 46, Crockett (D): 43, Brown (L): 3.

  • Hunt (R): 46, Talarico (D): 42, Brown (L): 3.

• CA-Gov (top-two primary): EMC Research (D) for Eric Swalwell: Chad Bianco (R): 21, Eric Swalwell (D): 18, Steve Hilton (R): 17, Katie Porter (D): 12, Tom Steyer (D): 9, Xavier Becerra (D): 6, Matt Mahan (D): 5, Antonio Villaraigosa (D): 3, other candidates 2% or less.

• GA-Gov (R): Cygnal (R): Burt Jones: 22, Rick Jackson: 16, Brad Raffensperger: 10, Chris Carr: 7.

• OK-Gov (R): Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates (R): Gentner Drummond: 36, Charles McCall: 14, Mike Mazzei: 13, Chip Keating: 13, Jake Merrick: 5. (Nov: Drummond: 35, McCall: 24, Keating: 9.)

• SC-Gov (R): National Public Affairs (R) for Alan Wilson: Alan Wilson: 23, Nancy Mace: 17, Pamela Evette: 16, Ralph Norman: 12, Josh Kimbrell: 2, undecided: 30.

• FL-20 (D): Listener Group (R) for Political Matrix News: Elijah Manley: 38, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (inc): 35, Dale Holness: 10.

• MN-01: Public Policy Polling (D) for Jake Johnson: Brad Finstad (R-inc): 44, Jake Johnson (D): 41.

• TX-21 (R): Ragnar Research (R) for Mark Teixeira: Mark Teixeira: 38, Jason Cahill: 7, Mike Wheeler: 5, Trey Trainor: 3, undecided: 40.

Correction: Our last Digest incorrectly said that 40 candidates placed their names on the ballot for mayor of Los Angeles, California. Because candidates submit paperwork first and only then gather signatures, candidates still need to go through another step before they can appear on the ballot.