Rick Jackson, a billionaire Atlanta health care executive, is currently leading in the polls for Georgia governor, even though President Trump has already endorsed another Republican candidate. This surprising turn comes after Jackson made a $1 million donation to Trump’s political operation, MAGA Inc., just weeks before he announced his candidacy.
This situation highlights how wealthy individuals often find ways to connect with President Trump by putting large sums of money into his various political ventures. These contributions have gone to Trump’s political operations, his White House ballroom project, and his inaugural committee, among other things, and many contributors have since received favorable treatment from the White House.
GOP operatives watching the Georgia race strongly suspect Jackson’s donation was made partly to influence President Trump, especially since he plans to spend $50 million on the May 19 primary. According to Axios, they think this could mean hoping Trump might dial back his public praise for Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, one of his longtime allies, or possibly withdraw his endorsement of Jones entirely.
Jackson’s $1M donation to Trump came before he had ever given him any money before
Jackson sent his $1 million donation to MAGA Inc. on December 10, a full eight weeks before he officially launched his campaign. While Jackson is a prolific GOP donor, he had not previously given any money to Trump or his allied PACs.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, he had even donated to two of Trump’s primary opponents, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Now, Jackson openly cites his December donation in his campaign announcement video, saying, “I donated a million bucks to Trump, because Trump’s success inspired me” to run.
Jackson’s team denies that he is trying to buy Trump’s support. Spokesperson Mike Schrimpf said Jackson contributed to the president long before deciding to run for governor, and that he “was simply inspired by all that the president is accomplishing.”
Behind the scenes, Jackson appears to have made real inroads with Trump’s team. He attended a dinner with President Trump and a small group of major donors at Mar-a-Lago just hours after Trump launched a military attack on Iran, and the two spoke privately at the event.Â
At one point, Trump asked Jackson to introduce himself to the other donors and explain why he was running, to which Jackson reportedly told the president, “Mr. President, I’m going to be your favorite governor,” as Trump smiled.
Jackson catapulted 15 points ahead of Jones in one recent poll, largely due to strong support from the MAGA base, and also secured an endorsement from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal Trump adviser. President Trump has reportedly been asking friends privately about Jackson, noting his fast rise in popularity.
Meanwhile, Trump’s handling of the Iran situation has drawn scrutiny, including calls for treason charges against reporters covering the conflict; a charge that carries the death penalty under U.S. law.
Despite all this, Trump’s support for Jones does not appear to have cooled. The president recently described Jones as “incredible” and called him onstage during an appearance in Rome, Georgia.
Jones’ campaign spokesperson Kayla Lott said, “Never Trumper Rick Jackson bankrolled candidates running against President Trump and the America First agenda. Now he’s lying to voters to try and cover it up,” adding that Jackson was trying to “buy his way out of his own record.” A spokesperson for President Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
Published: Mar 17, 2026 03:15 pm