Dark money spending in Georgia GOP governor's race surges to $13.5 million as infighting intensifies

Dark money spending in Georgia's Republican gubernatorial primary has surged to at least $13.5 million, with no indication the spending will slow as the race accelerates and tensions among GOP candidates boil over.

New campaign finance data shows the shadowy group Georgians for Integrity has poured millions of dollars into a relentless advertising campaign attacking Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, focusing on allegations of self-enrichment during his time in public office. The ads have become nearly unavoidable on television screens across the state, fueling deepening fractures within the Republican field.

The spending spike comes as questions intensify over who is actually behind the ads — and why. 

Last week, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that an aide to Jones' rival, Attorney General Chris Carr, shared a link to one of the group's ads with a Republican activist two days before the commercial began airing. The revelation ignited a new round of finger-pointing and accusations inside an already combative primary.

Jones has pushed back aggressively, spending months urging Atlanta television stations and the Federal Communications Commission to take the ads off the air. Those efforts have so far failed, as Georgians for Integrity continues to blanket the airwaves.

As the attacks mount, Jones has also leaned harder into national politics, embracing former President Donald Trump and the MAGA wing of the party. In recent days, Jones publicly defended Trump amid renewed scrutiny of election-related investigations in Georgia and shared a video on X highlighting Trump's endorsement.

With Georgians for Integrity signaling no plans to pull back, voters can likely expect even more attack ads, more internal party turmoil, and more unanswered questions about who is financing one of the most expensive primaries in state history.

This story will be updated as additional spending data becomes available.