Georgia ethics panel decides a GOP candidate for governor can loan $10M to his campaign
CARROLLTON, Ga. — Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is authorized to lend $10 million to his gubernatorial campaign, the Georgia Ethics Board announced Thursday.
Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running against Jones, has alleged that he evaded campaign finance restrictions. But the Georgia Ethics Commission ruled at a meeting in Carrollton, Ga., that a loan to an executive committee counts as a contribution under state law, adopting a legal opinion that there is “nothing in the current statute that prohibits such lending of personal funds.”
The notice allows Jones to continue spending his family fortune to pursue the Republican nomination. Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are the other two leading contenders in the GOP gubernatorial primary. They are fighting to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who legally cannot run again after two terms, alongside many Democrats.
The Republican and Democratic primaries will take place in May, followed by the general election in November 2026.
Under a 2021 state law, steering committees can raise unlimited funds, coordinate with candidates and raise money during legislative sessions when other fundraising is prohibited. But candidates cannot create steering committees until they win their party’s nomination for governor or lieutenant governor.
Instead, they are limited to candidate committees, which can raise a maximum of $8,400 from each donor. As outgoing lieutenant governor, Jones controls a steering committee, as does Kemp.
Rosario Palacios, executive director of the liberal-leaning watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said the decision only reinforces the injustice of the steering committees.
“We really think this is an unfair advantage that doesn’t allow for a true democratic process for voters,” Palacios said. “It’s not just about the two candidates here. This is not a fair process for anyone.”
Jones filed documents showing he made loans of $7.5 million and $2.5 million to the WBJ board of directors when he announced his candidacy for governor on July 8.
Carr argued that under Georgia law, loans could only be made to a candidate committee, not a stand-alone political action committee or steering committee.
The commission previously dismissed a complaint from Carr alleging that Jones violated state law because his previous financial disclosures did not show enough liquidity to make such large loans.
“It is troubling that the commission shows no interest in understanding how Burt Jones went from claiming a net worth of $700,000 to having a $10 million loan,” said Julia Mazzone, Carr’s spokeswoman.
Jones’ campaign did not respond to the merits of the decision, with spokeswoman Kayla Lott simply calling Carr “bad as a lawyer.”
Carr announced his candidacy for governor last year, saying he needed to raise money because he was not personally wealthy. Like Jones, Raffensperger has substantial personal wealth. Carr’s supporters created an independent committee, but it cannot coordinate with Carr’s campaign.
Carr also filed a lawsuit in federal court to try to stop Jones from using his board of directors. But in August, U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert dismissed the suit, ruling that Carr should have challenged the constitutionality of the law. She said it was wrong to sue Jones and his campaign for “doing exactly what Georgia law allows them to do.”
Carr did not file a new lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. This may reflect pressure from other Republicans who view leadership committees as a way to maintain political control of the Republican Party. Kemp relied heavily on his board of directors.
In 2022, a federal judge ruled that a Kemp leadership committee could not spend money during that year’s Republican primary, finding that the “unequal campaign finance system” violated challenger David Perdue’s First Amendment right to free speech. However, this case never resulted in a final ruling on the constitutionality of the law.
