Billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, his Republican primary opponent in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race.
The lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, alleges that Jones made three separate defamatory statements about Jackson on social media over the past week. Jackson’s campaign confirmed the filing Monday morning.
“Burt Jones is learning real fast that the days of him doing and saying anything for his own benefit are coming to an end,” Jackson campaign spokesman Dave Abrams said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday. “Rick Jackson is holding self-serving politician Burt Jones accountable for his words and his actions.”
In the complaint, Jackson argues that Jones has resorted to personal attacks rather than campaigning on his own record.
“Rather than standing on his record, fighting like an honest man, and earning the trust and support of Georgians, Burt Jones is resorting to what he knows best: cheap and dirty politics,” the complaint states.
Jones’ campaign dismissed the lawsuit and defended the remarks.
“Rick Jackson’s thin skin is showing,” Kayla Lott, a spokesperson for Jones’ campaign, told the DCNF in a statement Monday. “Why is Rick so embarrassed to have received a billion dollars in state contracts, helped Planned Parenthood recruit, and staff a pediatric doctor’s office that serves ‘transgender patients.’ He should be proud Georgia knows how his company made its money.”
The dispute centers on a March 5 post by Jones on X, where he claimed Jackson “made his fortune recruiting for Planned Parenthood, helping doctors perform transgender procedures on minors, and pocketed over $1 billion in state contracts on the backs of Georgia taxpayers,” adding “Georgia’s not for sale.”
The lawsuit escalates an already contentious Republican primary race.
After launching his campaign relatively late on Feb. 3, Jackson has spent nearly $16 million on advertising—almost six times the amount spent by Jones—according to NBC News, citing data from AdImpact.
Recent polling suggests Jackson currently leads the GOP field. A JMC Analytics and Polling survey of likely Republican primary voters released Monday found 37% support Jackson, while 22% backed Jones.
A Quantus Insights poll conducted in February found Jackson leading with 32.6% support among likely GOP primary voters, compared to 16.9% for Jones.
However, an Emerson College poll released March 5 showed a tighter race. The survey found 21% of voters supporting Jones and 20% backing Jackson.
The poll also found Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—known for clashing with Trump over the 2020 presidential election—receiving 11% support, followed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr at 6%, while 38% of respondents remained undecided.
Among voters who said President Donald Trump’s endorsement makes them more likely to support a candidate, Jones led with 31% support compared to Jackson’s 21%, according to the Emerson poll.
Under Georgia law, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the May 19 Republican primary, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election scheduled for June 16.
The defamation lawsuit marks the second legal clash between the candidates this year. In February, Jackson and his campaign committee filed a separate lawsuit against Jones challenging a state campaign finance law that Jackson argued gives Jones an unfair advantage in the primary, CBS News reported.
