CARR VS. JONES - JUDGE TOSSES LAWSUIT IN GEORGIA GOVERNOR'S RACE FUNDING

The Brief

 A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit by Attorney General Chris Carr against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones accusing his political rival of having an unfair advantage in campaign fundraising.

 Under Georgia law, Jones is able to raise and spend unlimited funds only through a special committee available only to the governor, lieutenant governor and a small group of legislative leaders.

 While the judge acknowledged the advantage, she ruled that Carr had sued Jones and his campaign for "doing exactly what Georgia law allows them to do."


ATLANTA - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by one of Georgia’s top Republican officials against his chief rival for the 2026 GOP nomination for governor that claimed the opponent had an unfair advantage in campaign fundraising.

The judge’s ruling allows Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to continue raising unlimited campaign funds using a special leadership committee granted to a select group of Georgia officials under a 2021 law.

The backstory:

Filed on Aug. 7 in Atlanta, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's lawsuit asked a U.S. District Court judge to cut off Jones’ ability to raise and spend money using his leadership committee. That’s a special fundraising vehicle that allows only the governor, lieutenant governor and a small group of legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds.

The law doesn’t give Carr access to that type of committee. Instead, he must rely on a regular campaign committee limited to raising $8,400 from each primary donor plus $4,200 for any primary runoff.

Carr argued that the committee gives Jones an edge that violates Carr’s constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection.

Carr filed suit as a candidate, not in his official capacity as attorney general, as he and Jones compete as leading candidates for the Republican nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp.

What they're saying:

In her ruling made on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Marie Calvert wrote that "it is undisputed" that Jones’ leadership committee gives him a fundraising advantage.

She still dismissed the lawsuit, noting that Carr wasn’t challenging the constitutionality of the law itself, but instead sued Jones and his campaign for "doing exactly what Georgia law allows them to do."

By seeking to blame Jones for the disparity rather than the fundraising law, the judge wrote, Carr was asking the court "to twist itself into a logical pretzel."

The favorable ruling for Jones comes two weeks after the lieutenant governor got a political boost from President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jones’ candidacy for governor.

Carr’s campaign spokesperson, Julia Mazzone, said the dismissal was based "on a procedural technicality, not on the merits." She said the campaign was considering further legal options.

Jones’ campaign has called Carr a hypocrite because Carr’s office in 2022 defended the same finance law he sued to block Jones from using. Carr has said he’s obligated as attorney general to defend challenged laws even if he personally disagrees with them.

Dig deeper:

Carr announced his run for governor last year, saying he needed a head start raising money because he isn’t personally wealthy. Carr’s campaign has voiced concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and family wealth to win the primary.

Jones has already made a $10 million loan to his leadership committee, which Carr’s campaign tried unsuccessfully to get the state Ethics Commission to investigate.

Carr’s lawsuit cited a 2022 federal judge’s ruling that Kemp’s leadership committee could not spend money to help him win the Republican primary that year. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen found that the "unequal campaign finance scheme" violated challenger David Perdue’s free speech rights.

But Carr sought more extensive restrictions on Jones’ leadership committee than Cohen ordered, such as seeking to cut off both fundraising and spending by Jones’ committee until the primary is over.

What's next:

The GOP primary is next May.

The Source: The Associated Press' Russ Bynum reported this story out of Savannah.

Kemp endorses Derek Dooley for Georgia Senate seat and says an outsider can beat Democrat Jon Ossoff

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday endorsed Republican Derek Dooley in Georgia’s 2026 U.S. Senate race, arguing an outsider without congressional experience can best critique Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s record.

“I’m a firm believer that we need a political outsider to do that, someone that can stay focused on his record, but also someone who has a vision for our state in the future,” Kemp said. “That is not a politician.”

Kemp’s choice of Dooley is hardly a surprise — he told other Republican candidates that he would back Dooley before the former University of Tennessee football coach even entered the race. But Kemp’s appearance with Dooley on Saturday before a University of Georgia football game in Athens underlines the investment of Georgia’s second-term governor in a political novice — along with Kemp spending on Dooley’s behalf and detailing his closest political aides to run Dooley’s campaign.

Kemp agreed to back the 57-year-old Dooley after deciding not to run for the seat himself. Georgia Republicans are looking to topple Ossoff, considered the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbent seeking reelection next year. The GOP field also includes U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, as well as activist Reagan Box.

Ruwa Romman, with a history of Palestinian advocacy, enters the Georgia governor’s race

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia state House member who advocated for Palestinians at the 2024 Democratic National Convention is entering the state’s race for governor.

Ruwa Romman announced her 2026 bid for governor on Monday, saying Democrats need a clearer progressive vision and greater focus on organizing voters.

She’s at least the eighth Democrat to seek the office. Other candidates include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Republican-turned-Democrat Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and state. Rep. Derrick Jackson.

Romman, 32, is the first Muslim woman elected to Georgia’s General Assembly, winning a state House in 2022 in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County. Among her goals are to raise Georgia’s minimum wage, reopen closed hospitals and force corporations to divest single-family houses they have purchased. She promises “a new kind of politics” that offers a “vision for the future” that will attract voters.

“For far too long, people have been too cautious or too willing to compromise with special interests and large corporations, and it’s left too many people behind,” Romman said. She warns that caution means Democrats won’t be excited to vote in 2026 and that many could stay home.

Romman and other Democrats hope to break the Republicans’ 24-year hold on the state’s top office, with Gov. Brian Kemp barred from seeking reelection by term limits. On the Republican side, candidates include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Romman last year was part of an uncommitted movement that withheld support from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention because of opposition to President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Born in Jordan and the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees, Romman was proposed as a speaker at the convention. She was never allowed to address the gathering but released the text of a speech that endorsed Harris while saying said she wanted the parties to “reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety.”

An observant Muslim who wears a headscarf, Romman said her Palestinian heritage is not a liability.

“My identity is a positive because you know that because of my background, I am not going to back down from a fight,” she said. “I have seen oppression firsthand.”

Romman said she attended high school in a conservative Atlanta suburb and knows how to persuade Georgians. Romman said that attacks on her heritage and activism would just seek to “distract from the real issues that are happening all around us.”

She pushed back against a bill that defined antisemitism in state law, saying it could stifle criticism of the government of Israel.

Romman has also supported the New York mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani, citing it as an example of face-to-face political organizing that can build a movement that would turn out more voters. That’s been a bedrock belief of Georgia Democrats allied with two-time Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams, but has yet to translate into a stable Democratic majority.

“We actually have the power to be able to put our state and to put our country on a different path — it just requires all of us to show up,” Romman said. “And when we want people to show up, we have to give them something tangible to show up for.”

State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Democrat representing suburban Sandy Springs, was a sponsor of Georgia’s antisemitism law and is the legislature’s only Jewish member. She said Monday that Romman “has no path to victory but is once again sabotaging the Democratic Party with her Mamdani-like, socialist platform.” Panitch said Romman’s advocacy at the Democratic National Convention “helped Donald Trump win,” previewing a likely attack against Romman by other Democrats.

JEFF AMY
Amy covers Georgia politics and state government for The Associated Press. He began work with the AP in 2011 and covered Mississippi for eight years before transferring to the Atlanta bureau in 2019.
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8 takeaways from Rick Jackson’s surprise entry into Georgia governor’s race
Your daily jolt of news and analysis from the AJC politics team.

By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam
Feb 4, 2026

A “political earthquake.”

A “stunning surprise.”

A “gubernatorial game changer.”

Those were just a few of the reactions to the campaign launch Tuesday of Rick Jackson, the self-made billionaire health care entrepreneur who entered the race for governor as a Republican with a pledge to spend at least $50 million of his own money.

He has already reserved more than $1 million in airtime, with plans to begin with a minute-long introductory ad this morning that outlines his core promises: aggressively deport immigrants living in the country illegally, cut Georgia’s income tax in half and freeze property taxes.

“Like President Trump, I don’t owe anybody anything,” he says in the ad. “And like you, I’m sick of career politicians.”

Jackson will deliver his first speech of the campaign later today at an event in Alpharetta.

Here are a few takeaways:

1. A secret this big is almost impossible to keep in Georgia politics. Even some longtime Jackson allies didn’t learn of his plans until after the AJC story posted.

2. Jackson is the rare true outsider in this field. Every other major contender, on both sides of the aisle, holds or has held public office.

3. Jackson’s not just putting his money into ads. His campaign team includes Lance Trover, who worked for Doug Burgum’s 2024 presidential bid, and Austin Chambers, a longtime GOP operative.

4. Burt Jones’ cash advantage suddenly looks less daunting. The lieutenant governor has a massive war chest and hasn’t had to spend much of it. Jackson’s entry could force him to go on offense.

5. The ad war mystery isn’t going away. Jackson’s campaign denies any connection to the nearly $14 million blitz from Georgians for Integrity targeting Jones. But many top Republicans are already pointing fingers his way.

6. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr still see a path, Jackson split the MAGA base. But they risk becoming also-rans if the two big, especially if Jones and  spenders dominate the spotlight.

7. Georgia politics makes strange bedfellows. Jackson helped bankroll Geoff Duncan’s 2018 GOP bid for lieutenant governor. Duncan is now running as a Democrat for governor.

8. Endorsements are already rolling in. Jackson’s early backers include state Rep. Brent Cox, R-Dawsonville, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Georgia Republicans allow RNC to break party neutrality to support Burt Jones
Any move to intervene in Georgia could reshape a crowded race for an open governor’s seat in a premiere battleground state.

By Erin Doherty
02/10/2026 05:55 AM EST

Top state Republicans in Georgia have quietly opened the door for the Republican National Committee to support Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the state’s hotly contested primary for governor.

The RNC normally maintains strict neutrality in party primaries to let voters — not party leaders — choose its nominee. Any move to intervene in Georgia, however, could dramatically reshape a crowded race for an open governor’s seat in a premiere battleground state. It could give Jones, President Donald Trump’s handpicked choice, a boost in a field that includes Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a target of Trump’s ire ever since he refused to echo the president’s falsehoods about the 2020 election in his state.

Georgia’s three RNC members signed letters late last year and early this year waiving the party rule that bars the RNC from intervening in contested primaries, according to three people familiar with the agreement. That move allows the national party to provide financial or operating support to Jones and coordinate with him ahead of the May primary.


It’s unclear whether the RNC will move to support Jones in the crowded primary now that it’s been cleared to do so. But it was the RNC that first reached out to the Georgia party leaders about waiving the rule, according to a person familiar with the process — a sign the national party has at least considered getting off the sidelines. The RNC did not provide a comment.

Josh McKoon, the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, said he signed the letter waiving the RNC’s neutrality rule because Jones has Trump’s endorsement.

“It was a no-brainer for me to sign the letter,” McKoon told POLITICO.

“From my perspective, I was going to remove any barriers to working with the RNC from a candidate that the president has clearly signaled as the candidate he wants to be the next governor,” he said.

Jones has long been a vocal supporter of Trump. He endorsed him for president in 2015, and as a state senator, was among the 16 Republicans who attempted to serve as electors in 2020 and falsely certify Trump’s loss in Georgia as a win. Jones received Trump’s official endorsement in August, and released a video with Jones last week calling him a “friend” who’s “going to make a great, great governor.”

Limited early public polling shows Jones leading the field, and he maintains a sizable war chest, but the race remains fluid, and a prolonged and expensive primary could complicate Republicans’ general election prospects. RNC support could help Jones fend off rivals and potentially avoid a prolonged primary fight, especially if he can avoid a run-off.

Last week, health care business owner Rick Jackson injected new uncertainty into the race by launching a surprise gubernatorial bid, pledging to spend $50 million of his own money to support his campaign. He has presented himself as a Trump-aligned political outsider, a message that could cut into Jones’ base.

A Cygnal poll released Monday, after Jackson’s surprise campaign launch, found Jones leading with 22 percent support among likely primary voters. Jackson followed at 16 percent, with Raffensperger at 10 percent and Attorney General Chris Carr at 7 percent.

To avoid a June run-off, a candidate must secure an outright majority of the vote in the May 19 primary — a high bar in an increasingly crowded field.

“I can see a path to victory for all four of them right now.” said Jason Shepherd, a former Cobb County GOP chair who is backing Carr. “But Burt Jones’ path to victory just got a lot harder” with Jackson’s entrance.

Under RNC rules, the national party is barred from backing candidates in primaries unless the filing deadline has passed and a candidate is running unopposed. That requirement, known as Rule 11, can be waived if all three of a state’s RNC members sign off. Such Rule 11 agreements have been used sparingly in recent cycles.

State party leaders in North Carolina have green-lit early support for former RNC chair Michael Whatley, another Trump-backed candidate running for the state’s open Senate seat.

Both Georgia and North Carolina are top priorities for the Republican Party in November. In Georgia, Republicans are looking to retain control of the governor’s mansion in a state that Trump flipped in 2024. The steps taken in both states raise questions about whether the RNC could face pressure to take similar moves in other states’ primaries where Trump decides to take sides, such as in Louisiana, where he endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow in her primary challenge against Sen. Bill Cassidy.

“We all look very carefully at when [Trump] decides to weigh in a race, because he doesn’t always do that,” McKoon said. “I certainly didn’t want to be serving as an obstacle to the RNC being able to coordinate with his campaign and provide support.”

Alec Hernández contributed to this report.

Rick Jackson files lawsuit against Burt Jones in Georgia governor’s campaign
Lawsuit is latest attempt to limit lieutenant governor’s fundraising in nationally watched 2026 midterms.

Jackson’s lawsuit aims to prevent Jones from using funds in his leadership committee for his gubernatorial campaign.
By Tim Darnell and The Associated Press
Published: Feb. 11, 2026 at 12:33 PM EST|Updated: 22 hours ago

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Rick Jackson, the billionaire health care company CEO whose entry into Georgia’s governor’s race has rocked the state’s political establishment, has filed a lawsuit against the other big-money candidate in the race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Jackson’s lawsuit aims to prevent Jones from using funds in his leadership committee for his gubernatorial campaign.

Jackson’s campaign also said it will file a preliminary injunction on Wednesday to prevent Jones’ leadership committee from spending any money.

In late January, a federal judge rejected Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger‘s bid to gain more spending power in the state’s race for governor, upholding campaign finance rules that some Republicans argue give certain candidates an unfair advantage.

Raffensperger’s independent political action committee, Safe Affordable Georgia, filed a federal lawsuit in December asking permission to raise unlimited funds for his campaign. Jones has been able to do that under a 2021 state law that created leadership committees like the one he chairs, which can raise unlimited funds for candidates.

Attorneys for Safe Affordable Georgia argued current law violates Raffensperger’s First Amendment rights by subjecting him to different rules than his opponent and requested that the limits for his committee be waived during the ongoing campaign.

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross said in her order Safe Affordable Georgia’s arguments did not meet the legal standard for her to do that, while acknowledging the law giving special treatment to Jones’ leadership committee is likely unconstitutional. Raffensperger has appealed the ruling.

In August 2025, a federal judge dismissed an attempt by another gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Chris Carr, to prevent Jones from using his leadership committee funds.

The ruling was in response to Carr’s attempt to cut off Jones’ ability to access money from a fundraising vehicle that allows Georgia’s governor, lieutenant governor and legislative leaders to raise money.

Carr argued the leadership committee violated his First Amendment right to free speech, as well as his 14th Amendment right to equal protection by setting up a campaign finance structure that favors Jones and limits how much Carr can spend on his campaign.

Under the 2021 law, leadership committees can raise money year-round for a variety of election-related activities and candidates. The chairperson of those committees must be the governor, lieutenant governor, party nominees for those offices or legislative leaders, giving the people who occupy those spots a potential significant edge when running for office themselves.

Democrat Ruwa Romman ending bid for governor
Native Jordanian, Muslim was seeking to become state’s first Democratic governor this century.

By Tim Darnell
Published: Feb. 26, 2026 at 10:18 AM EST|Updated: 4 hours ago
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - State Rep. Ruwa Romman announced Thursday she will be suspending her historic bid for Georgia’s governorship on Monday, the first day that absentee ballots will be available for the state’s nationally watched primary elections on May 19.  Romman — who made history herself in 2022 when she became the first native Jordanian and Muslim woman elected to Georgia’s legislature — was seeking to become the state’s first Democrat elected governor this century.  Instead, Romman said she will be qualifying for state Senate district 7.

“This campaign was never about me or any one person,” Romman said Thursday. “This campaign was about showing the promise of our state and to fight for a Georgia we can afford and where we belong.  “We will keep mobilizing volunteers all around the state to hold those in power accountable and remove those who ignore us from office.”

Romman’s departure leaves DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, businessman/pastor Olu Brown and Republican-turned-Democrat and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Absentee ballots will be available beginning Monday, March 2.

Romman moved to the United States at age 7 and has a background as a senior consultant for Deloitte and in local politics.  Romman rose to national prominence when she was denied a speaking opportunity at the 2024 Democratic National Convention to discuss her Palestinian roots. She later shared the speech she would have given with Rolling Stone magazine.

On the GOP side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr, healthcare CEO Rick Jackson and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are seeking the Republican nomination.