Georgia panel OKs Jones $10M campaign loan
Georgia’s Ethics Commission ruled on Dec. 4, 2025 that Lt. Gov. Burt Jones can loan $10 million to his leadership committee for his 2026 gubernatorial bid, adopting a legal opinion that such personal loans are permitted under current state law. The decision rejects Attorney General Chris Carr’s challenge and underscores the advantages of leadership committees, which can raise unlimited funds and coordinate with candidates, ahead of Georgia’s May 2026 primaries.
📌 Key Facts
- The Ethics Commission adopted a legal opinion stating nothing in current statute bars a personal loan to a leadership committee.
- Burt Jones reported two loans ($7.5M and $2.5M) to the WBJ Leadership Committee on July 8, 2025.
- AG Chris Carr’s separate federal lawsuit was dismissed in August by U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert as targeting conduct allowed by Georgia law.
- Leadership committees (created by a 2021 law) can raise unlimited funds and coordinate with candidates; only certain officeholders/nominees can control them.
📊 Relevant Data
In the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election, Brian Kemp's leadership committee raised $40.8 million, and Stacey Abrams' leadership committee raised $53.8 million.
New leadership committees bring in close to $100 million to governor’s race — Capitol Beat
In a 2022 financial disclosure, Burt Jones reported a net worth of $12.4 million, with $700,000 in cash and securities.
A Georgia Republican governor candidate questions legality of rival's $10M campaign loan — Spectrum News
In the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, only one out of eight candidates who self-funded more than $10 million won their races.
It Was A Brutal Election Year for Self-Funding Candidates — Bloomberg
Burt Jones is a businessman whose family owns Jones Petroleum Company, a fuel distribution and retail services company.
Jones Petroleum celebrating 50 years — Jackson Progress-Argus