Former DeKalb CEO enters Georgia Secretary of State race

Vernon Jones, who served two elected terms as DeKalb County CEO, has announced that he will run in the Georgia Secretary of State’s race next year. 

Beginning his campaign earlier this month, Jones was at the Georgia State Capitol on Oct. 15 where he announced he would be running in the Secretary of State’s race as a Republican to “restore the one thing that is essential for a free republic to function: public trust in elections.” 

At the Capitol and in a follow-up email, Jones, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, talked about the 2020 Presidential Election – and repeated questions about the integrity of the results. 

“Let me address the elephant in the room: do I believe and agree with Donald Trump that the 2020 election was stolen? My answer is this: I believe the irregularities in that election were too prominent, too widespread, to be coincidental or to go unquestioned,” stated Jones. “It was investigated and reported by the media that there was no widespread fraud. And I will ask this simple, honest question in return — how many questionable votes should be considered too many when we are talking about the legality of a statewide election? I say even one illegal vote is a violation of the sacred contract between the government and the people.” 

Jones also spoke about another Republican that will be running in the primaries against him: Gabriel Sterling, former chief operating officer for the current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Both Sterling and Raffensperger gained national attention for publicly refuting claims of widespread fraud while being pressured by Trump to “find votes” after the 2020 election. 

“The secretary of state’s office was hijacked by Gabe Sterling and the radical left media, where he repeatedly made appearances demonizing Donald Trump and Georgia taxpayers. It became a distraction to prevent anyone from questioning the election results, the process, the equipment, or the actual ballots,” said Jones.  

As far as his focus and goals, Jones said he is running on a platform to “fight for secure, common-sense election reform; fight to cut the red tape that holds back Georgia businesses; and fight to restore integrity to every level of government.” 

Jones, who was also formerly elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat before switching parties in 2021 to support Trump, will face off against at least three other candidates (including Sterling) in the Republican primary next year.  

According to the Jones’ campaign website, as DeKalb County CEO, he managed a $3.2 billion budget and 7,000 employees. He previously ran – and was not elected – in DeKalb County sheriff and Georgia governor races. 

For more information about Jones’ campaign, visit vernonjonesforga.com.