FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2025

Contact: Julia Mazzone

julia@carrforgeorgia.com

Carr Campaign Files Federal Lawsuit to Halt Burt Jones’ Unconstitutional Use of Leadership Committee Funds

(Atlanta, GA) — Today, the Carr for Georgia campaign filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Georgia challenging Lt. Governor Burt Jones’ blatant attempt to circumvent campaign finance laws in the Republican primary for Governor. 

Through a leadership committee, Jones is funneling unlimited contributions—and a mystery $10 million loan—into a competitive primary. This tactic violates both the First and Fourteenth Amendments by creating an unequal campaign structure.

“Republicans cannot ignore the cloud of unethical, illegal and corrupt behavior that surrounds Burt Jones,” said campaign spokeswoman Julia Mazzone. “He is using his position to sidestep contribution limits, raise six-figure checks during legislative sessions, and funnel unlimited money into a competitive primary through a structure only he can access.”

The lawsuit asks the court to:

• Block Jones from using his leadership committee in the primary 
• Prevent Jones from repaying a $10 million loan with donor money
• Require full transparency around how the committee has raised and spent funds since Jones entered the race 
• Appoint an independent monitor to oversee all future financial activity tied to the committee 

While other candidates are bound by strict fundraising caps, Jones is using a separate political entity with no accountability—effectively giving himself a second campaign committee bankrolled by special interests. He’s also leveraging his position as Lieutenant Governor to raise money during the legislative session, a time when others are legally prohibited from doing so.

“Leadership committees were never intended to be unregulated campaign machines,” Mazzone added. “The court has ruled on this before, and the Constitution prohibits exactly what’s happening here. We’re taking action to uphold transparency and accountability standards.”

The Carr campaign is seeking immediate injunctive relief to stop further violations and ensure that campaign finance laws are applied consistently across the board.

The full lawsuit filing is available here.

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About Chris Carr

Chris Carr has served as Georgia’s Attorney General since 2016 with a mission of protecting Georgians’ lives, livelihoods and liberties.

He has won statewide election two times (2018 and 2022) based on his strong, conservative record of prosecuting violent crime, keeping the economy open, defending Georgia’s election integrity law, supporting law enforcement, protecting Georgians’ liberties, going after fraud and corruption, and fighting back against the liberal Biden agenda.

In 2019, he created the first-of-its-kind Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, which has rescued and assisted over 200 children and secured lengthy prison sentences for their traffickers.

Building off of this successful model, Chris created Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit in 2022 and has obtained more than 100 convictions across the state so far.

His Statewide Opioid Task Force, which includes more than 300 public, private and nonprofit entities, has been cited as a national model. Georgia is now poised to receive more than one billion dollars for treatment after Chris initiated legal action against those who contributed to the opioid crisis.

In protecting Georgians’ liberties, Chris has fought back against egregious federal overreach from Washington and has sued the Biden administration over its failure to secure our borders.

Chris previously served as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) under Governor Nathan Deal from November 2013 to November 2016. Georgia was recognized as the top state in the nation in which to do business for each of the three years Chris served as commissioner. Under his leadership, GDEcD helped to facilitate 1,069 projects across the state that represent approximately $14.4 billion in investment and the creation of more than 84,000 jobs.

Prior to joining GDEcD, Chris was Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson for six years. During his time in Washington, Chris advised the Senator on federal legislation and numerous judicial nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts in Georgia and across the country.

Chris began his career with Georgia Pacific, then practiced law with Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta, and later served as Vice President and General Counsel for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and Lumpkin School of Law.

Chris and his wife, Joan, have two grown daughters.