Gubernatorial candidate Vernon Jones speaks to the crowd Saturday at Warrior Creek Off-Road Park’s Party in the Pines.

NORMAN PARK, Ga. — Gubernatorial candidate and former state representative Vernon Jones visited Colquitt County Saturday during the Warrior Creek Off-Road Park’s Party in the Pines event.

As part of his Georgia First campaign, Jones visited Norman Park in part to campaign in his bid for Governor but also to raffle off three prizes to those visiting the off-road park for the weekend. Jones is campaigning on seven key points that he emphasized in a speech to a gathered crowd around noon on Saturday.

Those seven points are:

• Election Integrity
• Second Amendment
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Georgia First Economy
• Protect our children
• Hate Crime 2.0
• Peaceful Protests

For more details regarding these points, you can find Jones’ Contract with Georgia here.

During his speech, Jones emphasized these points and spoke about his decisions to both endorse former president Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election and change from the Democratic Party to the Republican.

“It’s time to put Georgia first, just like Trump tried to put America first. I want to put Georgia first… I was once a Democrat but there was such a divide amongst that party, that nothing they ever promised was ever getting done. Now, they want to divide us. Divide Georgia into a red or blue state. No, Georgia is a red state,” Jones said during his speech.

Jones did find support amongst the crowd members following his speech and prize raffle. 

“He seems genuine and a good guy. I like to see Trump supporters working together. I haven’t ever liked Kemp but I think I’d vote for him,” said Tyler Wheeler of Pooler, Ga. in an interview following Jones’ speech.

His girlfriend, Jessica Gatriel, also of Pooler agreed saying, “I don’t know much about him but he seems like he’s got Georgia’s best interests.”

Jones has had experience with governmental positions. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 then again in 2017 to 2021, according to his biography provided by his campaign. 

Alongside his work in the Georgia General Assembly, he was twice elected as the chief executive officer of Dekalb County — “one of Georgia’s largest local governments,” said his biography.

While he did give a keynote speech during the 2020 Republican National Convention, he did not officially announce his switch to the GOP until a speech given at the Save America Rally on Jan. 6, 2021, an event that preceded the deadly Capitol riot that occurred the same day. 

During his visit to Warrior Creek, Jones also took part in some of the ATV fun. Loading up in a side by side ATV driven by Lewis Wallace of Warrior Creek Off-Road Park, who is a supporter of Jones, through mud holes, a small pond and on a tour of the grounds. 

“It’s American, it’s fun, it’s Georgia,” Jones said of the event in an interview following his ride through a particularly muddy pond. “It’s why people from around the state, the Southeast, and even around the country come to experience Georgia. It’s got the greatest people, the greatest industries and the greatest mud holes any man can ask for.”

On a more serious note, Jones stated that he hopes to focus on not only on his Contract with Georgia but other key problems plaguing South Georgia such as rural broadband and economic breaks for farmers and the agricultural field.

“When everything shut down during the pandemic, everybody said, ‘just teach from home.’ But rural areas quickly realized that wasn’t always an option. Access to rural broadband is something that I am going to fight for if the people of Georgia elect me to be their next governor. It’s something that has to happen for these rural areas to be able to keep up in the 21st century… Agriculture is huge in these areas. I know they have the big Ag Expo down here in Colquitt County every year and that just showcases Georgia’s need for support. It’s something that is so integral to this area, this state, this country that we have to find ways to support it,” Jones said in the interview. 

Looking forward, Jones will have an uphill battle for the GOP primary. Set in May, Jones will face off against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who has been endorsed by Trump. On the other side of the aisle, Stacey Abrams, former minority leader of the Georgia House, has announced her candidacy; she nearly beat Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election.