Vernon Jones

Here’s how much Georgia candidates have raised in statewide races

The slow drip of campaign fundraising reports culminated Thursday with a few surprises as state-level politicking begins to ramp up again with Georgia poised for a return to the national spotlight. It’s still early to draw many conclusions, and some races – most notably, the governor’s race – are not even fully set. But Thursday’s campaign fundraising deadline gave some candidates a chance to flex their fundraising muscle as the 2022 matchups begin to take shape. Governor’s race: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s is socking away millions in anticipation of a hard-fought reelection bid. He reported raising $3.9 million during the last…

Vernon Jones is running against Brian Kemp in governor’s race

Former DeKalb CEO and lawmaker Vernon Jones says he is running against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in the Republican primary for governor. Jones, who has always run and been elected as a Democrat, changed parties in January and endorsed President Donald Trump last year, even speaking at the Republican convention. Jones' gubernatorial bid does not come as a surprise. In late March, Jones sent a scathing statement about Kemp that many political pundits viewed as the opening shot in the former CEO of DeKalb County's run for governor. "If I were Governor, Donald Trump would still be President of the…

Vernon Jones says he’s joining the Republican party

On the day after an election that looks like it will seat two democrats from Georgia in the U.S. Senate, firebrand political figure Vernon Jones announced that he is joining the republican party. https://twitter.com/RepVernonJones/status/1346836180860608524 Jones, who has always run as a democrat when serving in the Georgia House of Representatives and as CEO of DeKalb County, spoke at the Republican National Convention last year and is a supporter of President Donald Trump. Last year, Jones raised eyebrows when he said he was resigning from his state House of Representatives seat only to walk back the resignation the next day. In…

Vernon Jones and Herschel Walker to voters: Trump is not a racist

Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones rebuked his fellow Democrats on the opening night of the Republican National Convention Monday and made an appeal for voters of color to reelect President Donald Trump. There’s little chance of Trump winning even a sizable minority of Black votes, with polls showing him trailing by far the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. Still, Jones, who is Black and a “lifelong Democrat,” urged Black voters to reject his party. Jones blasted his statehouse colleagues for ostracizing him after his endorsement of Trump in April, and said the party was too supportive of violent…