An expensive slugfest between two Republican candidates for governor fighting for the party’s nomination came to an end Tuesday night.

The Associated Press called the race for wealthy businessman Rick Jackson at around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. As of late Tuesday night, Jackson had about 53% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

Speaking at his election watch party in north Atlanta, Jackson said he will continue building on the “foundation laid by Georgia’s great Republican governors for the last few years,” and pointed to his rise from a foster child to a billionaire and to becoming head of Jackson Healthcare.

“I lived with five different foster families and attended 13 different schools, but with God’s help, I built a business [and] created thousands of jobs,” Jackson said.

Jackson mimicked Trump’s style in some ways, making a flashy entrance at his campaign launch by riding down a glass elevator and positioning himself as a political outsider. He also released an ad implying he had Gov. Brian Kemp’s backing, which Kemp later denied.

And Jones had been considered the frontrunner in the contest for the GOP nomination before Jackson upended the race in February with the surprise announcement that he was launching a campaign to replace term-limited Kemp.

Jones, who was the top vote-getter last month, was backed by President Donald Trump early in the race and very recently picked up Kemp’s endorsement. But Jackson had the backing of several high-profile establishment Georgia Republicans like his former rival in the race, Attorney General Chris Carr. Jackson also had the support of Insurance Commissioner John King and outgoing Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, as well as national Republicans like U.S. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas who dropped in to campaign for Jackson in recent weeks.

Speaking at a campaign event in his hometown in Butts County, Jones congratulated Jackson but kept his speech brief. He said that although he had a strong showing on election day, it was not enough.

“It looked like it was coming back pretty good, but the early voting margin was just a little too much to overcome,” Jones said.

Jones also blamed his loss on Jackson’s spending, saying that they “were outspent … and it was a very competitive race.”

“We felt like we had a chance to win tonight, and just came up a little short,” Jones said.

In Jackson’s victory speech, he defended his campaign’s outsized spending, saying he doesn’t need the money. On the campaign trail, Jackson often called his fortune “God’s money.”

“I did not run for governor to join their club. I ran to break up the club,” Jackson said.

The two candidates together spent over $138.6 million over the primary through the runoff period, according to campaign finance records leading up to Tuesday’s runoff election. Jackson’s spending makes up about 78% of that, representing nearly $108 million in spending that came largely from contributions he personally made to his campaign. Jones loaned his campaign just over $25 million and raised another $5 million.

Despite millions spent on ads, often attacking one another, Jones and Jackson had to face off in the June runoff after neither received over 50% of the vote in a crowded May’s primary election.

Jackson, who often took shots at Bottoms during the primary period, used his victory speech to pitch why voters should choose him over the former Atlanta mayor in November. He cited her decision to not run for a second term as mayor, saying that she “did such a bad job as mayor, she didn’t even run for reelection.”

“She would be an absolute disaster. When the violence started, families were afraid, businesses worried, and police officers needed support, Keisha Lance Bottoms turned her back on all of them. Keisha Lance Bottoms failed,” Jackson said.

In a statement, Bottoms fired back and criticized Jackson for having $1 billion in state contracts while opposing full Medicaid expansion for Georgia’s poorer residents.

“Georgians deserve a governor who is focused on ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive and who will fight for them when Donald Trump’s reckless policies hurt Georgia – that’s what I will do as governor. I will get to work to lower costs, expand Medicaid, and invest in Georgians’ education,” Bottoms said.

Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, also blasted Jackson, saying that Jackson is an “out-of-touch billionaire who doesn’t even pretend to care about the issues facing Georgians” and cast the Republican as a Trump ally who will raise the cost of living for Georgians.

“Jackson can’t even name a single Trump policy he disagrees with – and vocally supports the cost-raising policies coming out of DC that are raising costs on Georgians and making life harder for Georgia families, farmers, and small businesses alike,” Bailey said in a statement.

Georgia Recorder intern Ellie Fivas contributed to this report.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remains disqualified from prosecuting President Donald Trump’s election interference case after the Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal over her removal.

The 4-3 decision issued Tuesday means the state’s highest court will not review the Georgia Court of Appeals’ December ruling that disqualified Willis from prosecuting the case involving Trump and his remaining co-defendants due to a “significant appearance of impropriety,” which stemmed from a romantic relationship she had with a special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade.

That decision had tossed aside the trial court’s ruling last spring that there was no “actual conflict of interest” on Willis’ part, but had noted a “financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness” related to the testimony of certain witnesses. That ruling had allowed Willis to stay on the case after Wade resigned.

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 of his allies in August 2023, charging them with illegally conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results after Trump narrowly lost in Georgia. It’s now the last criminal case against Trump still pending.

Justice Andrew Pinson, who wrote the concurring opinion, said Willis’ appeal was too narrowly focused for the Georgia Supreme Court.

“Even if one believes that the Court of Appeals erred in reaching that decision, granting review to answer that question would be mere error correction, and this Court generally does not exercise our certiorari jurisdiction merely to correct errors that do not have some broader impact on Georgia law,” Pinson wrote in the concurring opinion.

Justices Sarah Hawkins Warren, Charlie Bethel and Shawn Ellen LaGrua joined Pinson in the concurring opinion. Justices John Ellington, Carla Wong McMillian and Verda Colvin dissented.

Willis said in a statement she respects the court’s decision and the legal process, despite disagreeing with the outcome, and will work to ensure the prosecutor assigned to the case has access to the case material.

“My office will make the case file and evidence available to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council for use in the ongoing litigation. I hope that whoever is assigned to handle the case will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand,” Willis said.

Peter J. Skandalakis, executive director of the nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said in a statement that while the council will be notified of the Supreme Court’s decision once the case is remitted back to the Fulton County Superior Court, the search for a new prosecutor started immediately.

“PAC will fulfill its duty … to appoint another prosecutor to take over the cases. When that decision is made, it will be announced at the appropriate time. Until then, any action on PAC’s part is premature, and we have no further comments,” Skandalakis said in a statement.

Trump’s return to the White House also adds another complication to the case, with legal experts skeptical that a trial could be held while he is in office. But the case could still proceed in the meantime against the other defendants, like Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Pinson wrote that the court’s review is reserved for cases of “gravity or great public importance” and is not for “mere error correction.” He argued that whether a prosecutor can be disqualified based “solely upon an appearance of impropriety” was not directly addressed in the appeal, as Willis had not cross-appealed the trial court’s finding of an appearance of impropriety. The Court of Appeals’ decision was a narrow ruling about the specific solution — Willis’ disqualification — to the admitted problem of impropriety in this case, Pinson wrote, rather than a broad legal issue requiring the Georgia Supreme Court’s opinion.

“Rather than deciding any broader question about whether an appearance of impropriety can serve as an independent ground for disqualification of public prosecutors, the Court of Appeals’ decision appears to have resolved a narrow, case-specific dispute about the trial court’s choice of disqualification remedy,” Pinson wrote.

In a dissenting opinion, McMillian argued that the court should have agreed to review the case. She wrote that the issue of whether an attorney can be disqualified based on the appearance of impropriety alone affects every active lawyer in Georgia. McMillian pointed out that the Court of Appeals’ decisions on this point are in conflict and that Georgia Supreme Court precedent, which the Court of Appeals’ ruling relied upon, warrants reconsideration.

McMillian also raised concerns that a new state law creates a financial incentive for defendants to seek the disqualification of prosecutors, and that the “amorphous” appearance-of-impropriety standard is easy to meet.

Lawmakers passed a measure during the 2025 legislative session that allows criminal defendants to recoup their legal costs if the prosecuting attorney in their case is disqualified for personal or professional misconduct. The proposal’s main sponsor said the bill was inspired by Trump’s case in Fulton County.

“This case requires the resolution of a novel issue of gravity about which the state of the law is confused and conflicted — both in Georgia and across the country — and thus warrants consideration (or reconsideration) by this Court. Moreover, the issue affects the bench and bar across the board and will likely recur such that guidance from this Court is desirable,” McMillian wrote.

Josh McKoon, chair of the Georgia Republican Party, celebrated in a statement, saying that Willis “wasted millions of tax dollars harassing patriotic and law abiding Americans, embarrassing herself and our state, and overwhelming our system of justice with the stench of her mendacity” and called for the United States Attorney, the Attorney General of Georgia and the State Bar of Georgia to open investigation on her conduct.

“But now it is time for a reckoning. She must be held accountable for her actions … This can never be allowed to happen again in our State,” McKoon said.

Attorney General Chris Carr called the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision “the correct one,” saying Willis was disqualified due to a “self-inflicted mistake,” but he did not call for further investigation. He concluded his statement by stating that “‘lawfare’ of any kind cannot stand.”

“When prosecutors use their office to advance a political agenda, the system as a whole suffers,” Carr wrote in an online post.

Trump’s lead attorney Steve Sadow also said in a social media post that the Georgia Supreme Court “correctly denied” reviewing the lower court’s decision.

“Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious and she deserved nothing less than disqualification. This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the President,” Sadow wrote.

But Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement that people “deserve full accountability for the election deniers who tried to subvert their votes and silence their voices,” saying that out of the 19 people indicted, four have already pleaded guilty.

“The prosecution of this case must continue so that it can be decided the way all criminal cases must be — according to the evidence and the law,” Bailey said in a statement.

Alabama’s auto industry, which supported nearly 90,000 jobs in 2023, could be significantly impacted by President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.

Citing alleged national security and illegal drug trafficking, the Trump administration announced a plan to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. The administration delayed a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada by a month Monday after Mexico agreed to send troops to the border and Canada agreed to negotiations on border policy.

These three countries are in the top five countries of origin for imports coming to Alabama, totaling $15.9 billion in 2023, or about 60% of all imports. The auto industry in the state, built around the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, just outside Tuscaloosa; Hyundai in Montgomery and Honda in Lincoln, is a large part of that.

“The North American auto industry is highly integrated and the imposition of tariffs will be detrimental to American jobs, investment, and consumers,” said Jennifer Safavian, president and CEO of Autos Drive America, which represents both American Honda Motor Company and Mercedes Benz International U.S.

In 2023, Alabama imported goods worth $37.1 billion, ranking as the 21st largest importer among the 53 U.S. importers. Nearly all the state’s top imports, including crude petroleum oils ($3.04 billion), spark-ignition reciprocating engines over 1,000 cc ($1.43 billion), various motor vehicle body parts ($1.25 billion), motor vehicle transmissions ($1.01 billion), and ignition and wiring sets for vehicles ($995 million) go toward building new cars.

Trump postpones big tariffs against Canada and Mexico for one month

Safavian said that proposed tariffs undermine the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, a free trade agreement between the three countries, which was revised and ratified by the three countries under the first Trump administration.

John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which also represents Mercedes Benz, pointed to the economic significance of trade.

“Seamless automotive trade in North America accounts for $300 billion in economic value,” Bozzella said in a statement. “It not only keeps us globally competitive, it supports auto industry jobs, vehicle choice, and vehicle affordability in America.”

Hyundai, which has heavily invested in U.S. manufacturing, said in a statement Monday it is evaluating the potential impact on its supply chain.

“For nearly four decades, Hyundai has been a driver of American growth and innovation, contributing jobs, economic activity, and investments that have helped Americans prosper,” according to a company statement. “We constantly assess how new policy developments affect our business and are in the process of understanding the specifics of the tariffs and their impact.”

Mercedes-Benz, another international automaker, pointed to its commitment to free trade principles and warned against rising protectionism, or an economic policy of restricting imports from other countries, such as tariffs and import quotas.

“Free trade and fair competition ensure prosperity, growth, and innovation,” Andrea Berg, a spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz North America Corp said in an email. “If a general trend towards protectionism gains a foothold, this has negative economic consequences for all stakeholders involved.”

The Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association declined to comment on the tariffs, saying they would discuss the issue at their upcoming conference in March.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.