New lawsuit, ethics charges as Georgia governor’s race heats up

The developments are the latest sign that this year’s governor’s race will be bitter and expensive.

One example: the group Georgians For Integrity has spent millions of dollars on ads attacking Jones. The Delaware-based group has no public face and has not disclosed its donors, making the powers behind the group one of the race’s most intriguing mysteries.

In December, the Georgia Republican Party filed an ethics complaint accusing Georgians For Integrity of illegally influencing the governor’s race without registering or disclosing its finances.

Now the State Ethics Commission has added its own charges, saying the group failed to register and report lobbying activity as required by law.

The notice of violations, dated Tuesday, says the ads have encouraged people to call Jones and urge him to change state laws on legislator pensions and eminent domain, the practice of the government taking private property for public use. The ads also have opposed a Butts County data center and hospital development on property owned by Jones’ father. The notice says those ads amount to lobbying activity that should be reported under Georgia law.

A representative for Georgians for Integrity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Jackson announced a federal lawsuit challenging Jones’ ability to fund his campaign for governor through his WBJ Leadership Committee.

Georgia law limits campaign contributions to candidates for public office. Currently, individual contributions to candidate committees are capped at $8,400 for primary and general elections and $4,800 for runoffs. Legislators and candidates for statewide office also cannot raise money while the state Legislature is in session.

But in 2021, state lawmakers created a new type of political body called a “leadership committee.” Such committees can raise unlimited cash, coordinate with candidates and raise money during the legislative session.

Under Georgia law, only the governor, lieutenant governor, the Republican and Democratic nominees for those offices and leaders in the state House and Senate can create leadership committees. That gives those who have them — like Jones — a powerful advantage over other candidates.

Jackson’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, claims the law gives Jones an illegal advantage as he vies for the Republican nomination for governor. Jackson wants an injunction to stop Jones’ committee from spending money on his campaign.

It’s the same argument former Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue and former Democratic candidate for governor Stacey Abrams made in 2022. They convinced a judge to stop Gov. Brian Kemp from using his leadership committee to support his campaign until he won the Republican nomination.

“The days of Burt Jones playing by his own set of rules to benefit himself are coming to an end,” Jackson campaign spokesperson Dave Abrams said in announcing the lawsuit.

Two of Jones’ other GOP opponents — Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — have filed unsuccessful lawsuits challenging Jones’ advantage on different grounds.

“This silly lawsuit has been unsuccessfully attempted twice already by the other never-Trump candidates in this race twice and will fail a third time,” Jones campaign spokesperson Kayla Lott said. “Not remotely surprising that the grifter crew surrounding Rick Jackson convinced him to waste more of his money.”