Media chatter suggests that Vernon Jones could soon drop out of the Georgia gubernatorial race, but the candidate gave no indication of that on either his Facebook page or his Twitter feed Thursday.
Jones did not return The Georgia Star News’ request for comment.
FOX News reported this week that Jones might drop out of the race on Friday, quoting what it called two Republican sources familiar with the situation.
“And they add that an announcement by the former Democratic state lawmaker turned Republican, who was a top black surrogate for Trump in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, could come between Friday and Monday,” the network reported.
FOX News also reported that Jones met with Trump at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida last week and that the two will likely meet again next week.
Jones commented Wednesday about his status as a Republican gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, but the messages he sent seemed unclear and came across as mixed.
Trump, in December, endorsed Republican David Perdue’s campaign to unseat incumbent GOP Governor Brian Kemp.
Jones on Wednesday posted on Facebook and said that he — and either Kemp or Perdue — will square off against the presumed Democratic Party nominee for governor.
“I can’t wait to debate Stacey Abrams!” Jones wrote.
Later in the day, though, Jones seemed to tweet that he’s open to other possibilities.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about my political future, as of late. My priority is – and has been since Day One – is to do whatever it takes to defeat Brian Kemp who’s cowardice nearly cost us our country. I will always stand with President Trump in anywhere I serve,” Jones wrote.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) this week said “Jones has enough sway in the race to extract a promise of support from Trump for another contest if he gets out of the governor’s primary.”
“Above all, Trump has made defeating Kemp a top priority, and his allies say he likely doesn’t want to see Perdue’s chances weakened by another pro-Trump candidate,” the paper reported.
The AJC then said Jones could run for Georgia’s right-leaning Sixth or Tenth Congressional Districts.
Perdue, meanwhile, launched a statewide tour on Tuesday to communicate his priorities to voters. They include reforming the state’s election system and overhauling the way the state government collects taxes.
Jones, a Democrat-turned-Republican and a political ally of Trump’s, declared his candidacy for governor last April. At the time, Jones said Kemp’s job performance, especially when it comes to ensuring “a free, fair, and transparent election,” has fallen short.
According to Ballotpedia, Jones served in the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat between 2017 and January of this year. He left the Democratic Party in 2021.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star and The Georgia Star News. Follow Chris on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, and GETTR. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Georgia Capitol” by Ken Lund. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Vernon Jones has been a candidate since April and has been all over the State! He has been the speaker at rallies for President Trump getting the crowds awake and ready. Why on earth Trump has pushed Mr Personality Purdue into this race is beyond my belief. So now he is making a State tour? Little late isn’t it to get our and rub elbows with the little people.