Georgia Political Mystery: Ads Against a Top Candidate

It's the biggest mystery in Georgia politics right now: Who's paying for the attacks on Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones? Someone operating under the name "Georgians for Integrity" has dumped around $5 million into television ads, mailers, and texts, per the AP. The attacks claim Jones, who already has President Trump's endorsement in his run for governor next year, has been using his office to enrich himself. The Jones campaign is hopping mad, threatening legal action against television stations if they don't stop airing ads that a lawyer calls "demonstrably false" and slanderous.

"They want to be anonymous, spend a lot of money, and create a lot of lies about myself and my family," Jones told WSB-AM, calling the ads "fabricated trash." For any Georgian settling down to watch a football game, the ads have been nearly inescapable since Thanksgiving. They're the opening shot in the public battle for the Republican nomination that will be settled in May's primary election. But the ads also show how dark money is influencing politics not only at the national level but in the states, with secretive interests dropping big sums seeking to shift public opinion.

Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Jones' top rivals for the Republican nomination, say they are not involved in the attacks. All three want to succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who can't run again because of term limits. Multiple Democrats also are vying for the state's top office. As the mystery continues, the Georgia Republican Party has filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission. The GOP claims the ads violate Georgia's campaign finance law against spending on an election without registering and disclosing donors.

"I think there are far-reaching consequences to allowing this activity to go forward unchecked," says state Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon. "And the consequences are much broader than the outcome of the May primary." It's a further filtering down of the US Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which led to dramatic increases in independent spending in US elections, said Shanna Ports of the Campaign Legal Center, which seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics. "Dark money is becoming more and more the norm in races, up and down the ballot, and at early times," Ports says. Read more.