ATLANTA (AP) – Vernon Jones, a former Democratic state representative who changed parties to back President Donald Trump, announced on Monday his bid for Georgia’s chief elections official.
Jones, identifying as “Black Donald Trump,” previously ran for Congress in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and has supported the president’s unfounded claims regarding the 2020 Georgia election being fraudulent.
“Confidence in our elections has been shaken,” Jones stated in a video revealing his campaign for secretary of state. He emphasized, “Our elections must be secure. Our ballots must be protected.”
The current Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, is seeking the governor’s office in 2026. Another Republican, Gabriel Sterling, a former senior official under Raffensperger, is also in the race to succeed him. Both garnered recognition for defending Georgia’s presidential election integrity in 2020, particularly when Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” votes to overturn Biden’s victory.
Jones withdrew from the 2022 gubernatorial race and lost to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in the Republican primary. He is now looking for Trump’s endorsement to challenge Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff.
Before his loss to Collins, Jones had multiple terms in the Georgia House of Representatives but shifted to the Republican Party in January 2021, near the end of his last term. He’s been commended by Republican leaders for being an African American who supported Trump’s re-election efforts.
The Secretary of State’s role involves managing state elections, corporate registrations, professional certifications, and various business activities.
If elected, Jones plans to advocate for paper ballots, reduce mail-in voting, and enhance voter ID regulations. He also aims to ease regulations for small and medium-sized businesses.
Other candidates include Republican state Representatives Tim Fleming and Kelvin King, both of whom attract Trump supporters questioning election security. Dr. King’s spouse, Janelle King, serves on the state Board of Elections and has witnessed pivotal cases overturned by the state Supreme Court.
Fleming leads a commission evaluating Georgia’s election framework and is an advocate for handwritten paper ballots, echoing demands from those skeptical about the state’s voting technology.
As for the Democratic side, lesser-known candidates Adrian Consonary Jr. and Penny Brown Reynolds, a former Fulton County state court judge who made a brief appearance on a reality show, have also entered the race.
