Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson have advanced to a runoff in the Republican primary for governor, eliminating Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and state Attorney General Chris Carr. The June 16 runoff will be contested by the top two vote-getters from Tuesday’s primary, with neither candidate securing more than 50 percent support on election day. Recent polling showed Jackson at approximately 34.5% and Jones at 36.7%, reflecting an extremely competitive contest early in the race.

Jackson, who spent at least $50 million of his own funds to launch his campaign from relative obscurity, emphasized his background—being raised by a single mother who struggled with alcoholism and was sent to multiple foster homes before building a multi-billion-dollar health care business. He positioned himself as an outsider unconnected to special interests, casting Jones as a “career politician.”

Jones has leaned on President Trump’s endorsement while criticizing Jackson’s conservative credentials, stating that Jackson is “a political insider who’s been in office 14 years, working inside the system for his own benefit.”

Jackson recently declared: “Barely more than 100 days ago, we sent an earthquake through the political establishment when we entered the race. I think it’s safe to say, we shook the career politicians and insiders to their core. But the job is not done. We have four weeks to finish it. And the choice could not be more clear, or more important.”

Jones countered: “Burt Jones is a political insider who’s been in office 14 years, working inside the system for his own benefit, while promising tax relief and failing to deliver. I’m the opposite. I don’t owe the lobbyists anything. I don’t need the establishment’s permission. I cannot be bought, and I will not back down.”

Jackson has also invested $80 million in advertising since launching his campaign in February, according to AdImpact data. His ads have been widely distributed across Georgia, sometimes overshadowing other Republican candidates’ efforts. In one advertisement, Jackson stated: “Like President Trump, I don’t owe anybody anything, and like you, I’m sick of career politicians.” Another ad portrays him as “the straight-talking, Trump-supporting self-made outsider” who “tells it like it is.”

Notably, some of Jackson’s advertisements aired in Washington, D.C. and West Palm Beach, Florida—near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate—just weeks after his campaign began. Despite Jackson’s efforts to attract Trump’s attention, the former president recently reaffirmed his support for Jones at a tele-rally, dismissing speculation that Jackson could sway him.