Georgia ethics panel decides a GOP candidate for governor can loan $10M to his campaign

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is allowed to loan $10 million to his campaign for governor, Georgia's ethics panel said Thursday.

Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running against Jones, alleged it evaded campaign finance restrictions. But Georgia Ethics Commission decided in a meeting in Carrollton, Georgia, that a loan to a leadership committee counts as a contribution under state law, adopting a legal opinion that there is “nothing in the current statute which prohibits such a loan of personal funds.”

The opinion clears Jones to keep spending his family fortune to pursue the Republican nomination. Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are the other two top candidates in the GOP governor's primary. They're vying to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who legally can’t run again after two terms, along with numerous Democrats.

Republican and Democratic primaries are in May, followed by the general election in November 2026.

Under a 2021 state law, leadership committees can raise unlimited funds, can coordinate with candidates and can raise funds during legislative sessions when other fundraising is banned. But candidates can't establish leadership 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 the incumbent lieutenant governor, Jones controls a leadership committee, as does Kemp.

Rosario Palacios, executive director of liberal-leaning watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said the decision only reinforces the injustice of leadership committees.

“We definitely 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 Leadership Committee when he announced his run for governor on July 8.

Carr argued that under Georgia law, loans could be made only to a candidate committee, not to a freestanding political action committee or leadership committee.

The commission earlier dismissed a complaint from Carr alleging that Jones broke state law because his previous financial disclosures didn’t show enough liquid assets to make such large loans to himself.

“It’s troubling that the commission shows no interest in understanding how Burt Jones went from claiming a net worth of $700,000 to loaning himself $10 million,” said Julia Mazzone, a spokesperson for Carr.

Jones’ campaign did not respond to the substance of the ruling, with spokesperson Kayla Lott only characterizing Carr as being “bad at being a lawyer.”

Carr announced his run for governor last year, saying he needed to raise money because he isn’t personally wealthy. Like Jones, Raffensperger has substantial personal wealth. Supporters of Carr have established an independent committee, but it can't coordinate with Carr's campaign.

Carr also sued in federal court to try to block Jones’ use his leadership committee. But in August, U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert dismissed the lawsuit, 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 hasn't filed a new lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality. That may reflect pressure from other Republicans who view leadership committees as a vehicle for them to maintain GOP political control. Kemp has made heavy use of his leadership committee.

In 2022, a federal judge ruled that a leadership committee for Kemp couldn't spend money during the Republican primary that year, finding the “unequal campaign finance scheme” violated challenger David Perdue’s First Amendment right to free speech. However, that case never reached a final ruling on the law’s constitutionality.