Attorney General Chris Carr (R) filed a lawsuit against Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R) in early August over what he deemed to be an unfair advantage in campaign fundraising. The lawsuit was recently dismissed by District Court Judge Victoria Marie Calvert, who stated that Jones and his campaign were acting within their legal rights.
The suit centered on the fact that Jones can raise unlimited campaign funds through a special leadership committee of which Carr has no access. According to a 2021 law, the special committee is granted only to a select group of Georgia officials, including the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
In the suit, the Attorney General argued that this special access violates his constitutional right to free speech and equal protection. He asked the District Court Judge to cut Jones off from accessing the special committee.
Judge Calvert agreed that Jones had a significant advantage but dismissed the lawsuit for failing to challenge the constitutionality of the law. The Judge couldn’t grant Carr what he wanted without creating some contradiction within court precedent.
The spokesman for Carr’s gubernatorial campaign, Julia Mazzone, stated that they would pursue other legal options. This comes as a significant blow to Carr, who was expecting the suit to level the playing field and has been quite vocal about the ‘unfair’ advantage that Jones has.
In early August, he posted on X about the situation and blatantly accused the Lieutenant Governor for unethical and corrupt behavior. He followed this up with a video where he explains his motive for the lawsuit, claiming that Jones has no legal right to use the money raised by the committee.
He acknowledges that he defended the law at one point, but claims that using the special committee to run for another office is illegal. The video concludes with Carr attempting to frame the situation as a question of fair competition.
The Attorney General then posted a video where he discussed the lawsuit’s failure and hinted at the possibility of continuing the legal battle. Carr doubled down as well, reaffirming the unconstitutionality of Jones’s special committee privilege and calling his campaign unethical.
