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Georgia Attorney General Chris Kerr, one of the governor’s major Republican candidates, filed a lawsuit against Governor Burt Jones Central, challenging the legality of GOP rival campaign funding.
Kerr asked federal judges to permanently block the ability to spend money from his leadership committee, a fundraising tool that allows governors, lieutenant governors and legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds.
Both men lead Republican candidates to the success of GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, who was limited in time after next year’s election.
Carr argues that Jones’ Leadership Committee violates the Attorney General’s First Amendment and his 14th Amendment rights of equal protection by setting up a campaign finance structure that supports Jones and limits how much Kerr can spend on a campaign. The 2021 state law that created the Leadership Committee does not allow CARRs or other declared candidates to access fundraising vehicles.
Carr’s regular campaign committee is limited to raising $8,400 from each donor for his major campaign and $4,200 for a potential primary spill.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Kerr, portrayed here, sued Lt. Gen. Burt Jones over the legality of the lieutenant governor’s campaign funding. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
In a statement, Car Campaign spokeswoman Julia Mazzone said in a statement that Jones “used his position to raise six-figure checks during legislative sessions and leaked unlimited money to the competition primary through an unlimited access structure.”
“Republicans cannot ignore the cloud of unethical, illegal and corrupt behaviour surrounding Burt Jones,” Mazzone said.
“The Leadership Committee was not intended to be an unregulated campaign machine,” the statement added. “The court has ruled this before, and the Constitution prohibits exactly what is going on here. We are taking action to support transparency and accountability standards.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Jones’ campaign accused Carr of hypocrisy as his office defended the same laws he previously challenged in court. Kerr argued that even if the Attorney General personally opposes them, he must defend the challenged law.
“The Georgia Attorney General defended the law two years ago,” said Kendill Parker, a spokeswoman for Jones. “Now he’s running for governor and wants to challenge the same laws he once defended. If hypocrisy was an Olympic sport, he’ll take the money.”
Kerr launched his governor’s bid last year, saying that he is not personally wealthy and needs more time to raise money. His campaign has voiced concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and family wealth to support his major campaign.
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Georgia AG Chris Kerr asked a federal judge to permanently block the ability to spend money from Lt. Gen. Burt Jones’ Lieutenant Governor’s Leadership Committee. (Nathan Posner/Anadoll Agency via Getty Images)
The Car Campaign attempted to investigate the source of the $10 million loan Jones gave to the Leadership Committee, but the committee refused to start an investigation, noting that Kerr was unable to claim legal violations.
The Attorney General’s campaign pointed to the 2022 ruling of US District Judge Mark Cohen that Kemp’s Leadership Committee failed to use the money for Kemp’s reelection campaign that year in the Republican primary. Cohen discovered that the “unequal campaign finance scheme” violated the original rights of GOP primary challenger and former US senator David Purdue.
Cohen determined that Kemp could continue to raise funds for the Leadership Committee, but the governor said he could not use it against Purdue in the primary.
“Despite full knowledge of this history, Jones and his leadership committee, the WBJ Leadership Committee, have ignored this court’s advance ruling and used a leadership committee that has no expenditure restrictions contributed or adjusted in the primary for one candidate,” Kerr’s case reads.
Carr is seeking additional restrictions on Jones’ Leadership Committee than Cohen’s ruling. The Attorney General is asking judges to cut off both funding and spending from the Lieutenant Governor’s Leadership Committee until the end of major races.
He also calls for the appointment of a federal magistrate judge to oversee all expenses by the Leadership Committee, and Jones’ regular campaign committee requires that the Leadership Committee repay the money it has already spent and paid to help Jones governor run.
“The loan and its amount are important. Mr. Jones can also raise unlimited funds to the Leadership Committee, and then repay the loan from the funds raised and then apply directly to his campaign account, effectively removing contribution restrictions from those dollars,” the lawsuit states.
Lieutenant Colonel Burt Jones’ campaign defended the same law in 2022 that he is currently challenging in court, causing Georgia’s Chris Kerr to be a hypocrite. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
Kerr is asking the court to block Jones from providing cash to the Dark Money Group or lending to his regular campaign committee during the primary. He also asks Magistrate Judges to investigate where Jones’ $10 million loan came from, citing a 2022 financial disclosure that showed Jones did not have enough liquid assets for that amount of loan.
The Attorney General’s campaign continues to express concern that Jones could raise unlimited money to pay off his loan and then grant his candidates committee the funds to pay off his candidates, claiming that this would destroy the campaign’s contribution limits.
“Jones is raising and spending unlimited amounts in primary elections, and Kerr is limited to what he can raise through Georgia’s existing campaign contribution restrictions,” the lawsuit reads. “This court should level this uneven playing field by preventing Jones from using the Leadership Committee during the primary election.”
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Carr’s campaign also calls on the Ethics Committee for an advisory legal opinion on whether Jones’ fundraising efforts are legal.
The Republican primary will take place in May, and next year’s general election in Purple is expected to become one of the nation’s most expensive governor races.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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