In Georgia, Republican primary for governor goes to a runoff between Trump backers

People wait in a line at a precinct before voting during a Georgia primary. Brynn Anderson/AP hide caption toggle caption Brynn Anderson/AP The race for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor is headed to a runoff, according to a race called by the Associated Press . Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will face off against healthcare executive Rick Jackson on June 16. The result advanced two candidates who aligned closely with President Trump over two others, who had opposed his attempts to overturn Georgia's outcome in the 2020 presidential election. Jones, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2023, is endorsed by Trump , whom he has backed since early in Trump's first run for president. Federal prosecutors investigated Jones for allegedly serving as a fake elector in a scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, but declined to charge him in 2024. While Jackson, owner of a healthcare company, is not endorsed by Trump, he has closely aligned himself with the president, and has compared himself to him as a fellow billionaire. Jackson and Jones have spent millions of dollars on TV attack ads against each other since Jackson entered the race at the beginning of this year. The primary tested the strength of Trump's endorsement and the MAGA base in Georgia. Trump lost Georgia by about 11,000 votes in 2020 and won the state in 2024. Georgia, which has a Republican-controlled state government and two Democratic U.S. …