Vernon Jones
Vernon Jones (Republican Party) was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 91. He assumed office on January 9, 2017. He left office on January 11, 2021.
Jones (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia's 10th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary runoff on June 21, 2022.
Jones also ran for election for Governor of Georgia. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on May 24, 2022.
In April 2020, Jones announced his intention to resign from the Georgia House of Representatives but later decided to remain in office. To read more about Jones' announcement, click here.
On January 6, 2021, Jones left the Democratic Party to join the Republican Party.[1] To learn more about state legislators who have switched political parties click here.
Biography
Vernon Jones was born in Laurel Hill, North Carolina. Jones earned a B.A. in business administration from North Carolina Central University in 1983. He served as the CEO of DeKalb County.[2][3][4]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Jones was assigned to the following committees:
- Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee
- Human Relations and Aging Committee
- Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee
- MARTOC Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee (MARTOC)
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Georgia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Human Relations and Aging |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Georgia's 10th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Georgia District 10
Mike Collins defeated Tabitha Johnson-Green in the general election for U.S. House Georgia District 10 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Collins (R)  | 64.5 | 198,523 |
 | Tabitha Johnson-Green (D) | 35.5 | 109,107 | |
| Total votes: 307,630 | |||
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Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 10
Tabitha Johnson-Green defeated Jessica Fore in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 10 on June 21, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tabitha Johnson-Green | 64.4 | 9,070 |
 | Jessica Fore | 35.6 | 5,024 | |
| Total votes: 14,094 | |||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 10
Mike Collins defeated Vernon Jones in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Georgia District 10 on June 21, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Collins | 74.5 | 30,536 |
 | Vernon Jones | 25.5 | 10,469 | |
| Total votes: 41,005 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 10
Tabitha Johnson-Green and Jessica Fore advanced to a runoff. They defeated Phyllis Hatcher, Femi Oduwole, and Paul Walton in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Georgia District 10 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tabitha Johnson-Green | 42.0 | 15,821 |
| ✔ | | Jessica Fore | 19.2 | 7,257 |
 | Phyllis Hatcher | 18.9 | 7,120 | |
 | Femi Oduwole | 11.7 | 4,427 | |
 | Paul Walton | 8.2 | 3,077 | |
| Total votes: 37,702 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kimberly Reuter (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 10
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Georgia District 10 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Collins | 25.6 | 28,741 |
| ✔ | | Vernon Jones | 21.5 | 24,165 |
 | Timothy Barr | 14.3 | 16,007 | |
 | Paul C. Broun | 13.3 | 14,901 | |
 | David Curry | 9.4 | 10,557 | |
 | Alan Sims | 6.6 | 7,388 | |
 | Marc McMain | 4.7 | 5,222 | |
 | Mitchell Swan | 4.6 | 5,184 | |
| Total votes: 112,165 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Matt Richards (R)
- Andrew Alvey (R)
- Patrick Witt (R)
- Charles Rupert (R)
- Todd Heussner (R)
2020
See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 91
Rhonda Taylor won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 91 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rhonda Taylor (D) | 100.0 | 27,293 |
| Total votes: 27,293 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 91
Rhonda Taylor defeated incumbent Vernon Jones (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 91 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rhonda Taylor | 57.9 | 9,760 |
| Vernon Jones (Unofficially withdrew) | 42.1 | 7,093 | |
| Total votes: 16,853 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 91
Incumbent Vernon Jones won election in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 91 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vernon Jones (D) | 100.0 | 21,329 |
| Total votes: 21,329 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 91
Incumbent Vernon Jones advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 91 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vernon Jones | 100.0 | 5,505 |
| Total votes: 5,505 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Georgia House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 24, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016. Incumbent Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D) did not seek re-election.
Vernon Jones defeated Carl Anuszczyk in the Georgia House of Representatives District 91 general election.[5][6]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 91 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Vernon Jones |
72.26% | 18,161 | |
| Republican | Carl Anuszczyk | 27.74% | 6,973 | |
| Total Votes | 25,134 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Vernon Jones and Rhonda Taylor defeated Charles Hill and David Neville in the Georgia House of Representatives District 91 Democratic primary.[7][8]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 91 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Vernon Jones |
48.93% | 2,712 | |
| Democratic | Rhonda Taylor |
25.91% | 1,436 | |
| Democratic | Charles Hill | 18.22% | 1,010 | |
| Democratic | David Neville | 6.95% | 385 | |
| Total Votes | 5,543 | |||
Vernon Jones defeated Rhonda Taylor in the Georgia House of Representatives District 91 Democratic Primary Runoff.[9]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 91 Democratic Primary Runoff, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Vernon Jones |
53.95% | 2,056 | |
| Democratic | Rhonda Taylor | 46.05% | 1,755 | |
| Total Votes | 3,811 | |||
Carl Anuszczyk ran unopposed in the Georgia House of Representatives District 91 Republican primary.[7][8]
| Georgia House of Representatives, District 91 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Carl Anuszczyk (unopposed) | |
2012
Jones was running in the 2012 election for Georgia House of Representatives District 94. Jones would have run against Karen Bennett, Patricia Bourdeau, Tony Lentini, and Jaye Peabody in the Democratic primary on July 31, 2012, but withdrew prior to the primary.[10] The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[11]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Vernon Jones did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Vernon Jones did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2020
In 2020, the Georgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 26. The session was suspended from March 13 through June 11.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 14 through April 2.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 9 through March 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Georgia General Assembly was in session from January 11 through March 24.
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Noteworthy events
Endorsement of President Trump and resignation announcement
On April 14, 2020, Jones publicly endorsed President Donald Trump (R) in his 2020 presidential re-election campaign. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that in doing so, Jones became "the first state elected Democratic official in Georgia to back [Trump's] bid for a second term." Jones said of the endorsement, “It’s very simple to me. President Trump’s handling of the economy, his support for historically black colleges and his criminal justice initiatives drew me to endorse his campaign.” In response, leaders of the Democratic caucus in the Georgia House of Representatives endorsed Rhonda Taylor, who declared her candidacy to challenge Jones in the Democratic primary for HD 91.[12]
One week later, on April 22, Jones announced his intention to withdraw his candidacy for re-election and resign from the state legislature. He said in a statement, "I'm sick and tired of me and my family being attacked and harassed by the Democrat Party for putting my country before my party. I take pride in being an independent thinker. My first amendment right to freedom of speech is under siege. I intend to help the Democrat Party get rid of its bigotry against Black people that are independent and conservative."[13] Jones continued on to say, "Therefore, I intend not to complete my term effective April 22, 2020."[14]
In a radio interview following the announcement, Jones indicated that he did not intend to change his party affiliation: "I don’t plan to leave the Democratic Party because somebody’s got to be in there to hold them accountable."[15]
On April 23, Jones announced that he changed his mind and decided not to resign. He posted a video making this announcement on Twitter and said, "Yesterday, I announced my intentions to resign from my office. But shortly thereafter, the outpour of support I received was too great for me to ignore. I will not allow the Democrats to bully me into submission. I will not let them win. I will NOT resign."[16] Jones' 2020 candidacy filing remained active at the time.[17]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Twitter, "Vernon Jones," January 6, 2021
- ↑ The History Makers, "Vernon Jones," accessed April 20, 2022
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "All about Vernon Jones," August 23, 2020
- ↑ Jonesforgeorgia, "Meet Vernon," accessed April 20, 2022
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 13, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "General primary results," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Runoff," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ Associated Press, "Georgia - Summary Vote Results" accessed July 31, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate List," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Georgia Democratic lawmaker endorses Trump’s presidential bid," April 14, 2020
- ↑ Decaturish.com, "State Rep. Vernon Jones plans to resign, won’t seek reelection," April 22, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "Georgia Democrat announces resignation days after endorsing Trump," April 22, 2020
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Georgia Democratic lawmaker resigns amid backlash after Trump endorsement," April 22, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Vernon Jones," posted on April 23, 2020
- ↑ Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, "Candidate Name: Jones, Vernon," accessed April 24, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D) |
Georgia House of Representatives District 91 2017-2021 |
Succeeded by Rhonda Taylor (D) |
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