Former Democrat turned Trump ally Vernon Jones announces bid for Georgia Secretary of State

Former Democratic Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, who has since switched parties, announced on Monday that he is running to become the Peach State's top election official as its Secretary of State.

The announcement comes as Georgia's current Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is running for governor next year. Jones became a Republican in 2021 and rose to prominence as a black supporter of President Donald Trump.

Jones previously ran for Congress in 2022 after he switched parties and earned Trump's endorsement. But he lost the Republican primary to Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, who is now trying to defeat Sen. Jon Ossoff in the Senate.

“Trust in our elections has been shaken,” Jones said in his announcement video: “Our elections must be secure. Our ballots must be protected.”

Jones said that if he is elected, he would toughen up Georgia's voter ID law, push for the use of paper ballots instead of Georgia’s electronic system and limit mail-in voting. 

Republican state Reps. Tim Fleming and Kelvin King, and Raffensperger's aide Gabriel Sterling, are also running for the party's nomination, according to the Associated Press.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.