Savannah Lt. Gov. candidate adores Trump. He endorsed one of her rivals. What that means.

All of the top Republican candidates vying to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor have one thing in common: they're all avowed supporters of former President Donald Trump.

But only one got his endorsement, and it wasn't Savannah's Jeanne Seaver. His support went instead to Burt Jones, a Georgia senator.

With less than a week to go before election day, Seaver isn't returning Trump's snub. Candidacy endorsement or no, she still wants voters to know she's with the former president, just as she's been since the start.

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The Trump campaign hired Seaver in 2015 as a grassroots campaign coordinator for the state, and she also founded the first Women for Trump coalition in Georgia.

However, Seaver acknowledges the lack of endorsement is a disadvantage in her campaign.

“There's no one that’s been more loyal to Trump. There's no one that’s been more loyal to many elected officials who are running. But when you ask for that loyalty back when you run, you don't get it,” she said.

“And that's what people are tired of too.”

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Seaver initially decided to run for the lieutenant governor's post in February 2021 after current Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan refused to preside over a debate over Senate Bill 241, a package of voter reform measures that passed anyway and is now state law.

Duncan later announced he wouldn't seek re-election in 2022.

“I felt Georgians deserve more. And plus, the bottom line is I've been a conservative out there working grassroots for over 22 years getting conservatives elected and voters are tired,” she said. “Georgians are tired of elected officials showing up every two or four years, asking for money out of their pockets, time away from their families to go out and work hard for them and then we never hear from them again.”

Seaver has struggled to get her message across. She's raised just $47,000 for her campaign, according to recent campaign filings. Compare that to Jones' $4 million-plus haul.

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No matter the race a lack of funds and endorsements puts candidates in a bind, especially in statewide campaigns, according to University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock

“Voters are hesitant to vote for someone about whom they know nothing,” Bullock said. “Even if you just can just recognize the name, that helps a candidate and that's why incumbents, that's one of the advantages they had. People at least would have heard that name and may not have heard the names of the challengers.”

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Seaver differentiates herself from opponents

Despite the roadblocks and not receiving an endorsement from Trump, Seaver said it’s her stance on several big ticket issues that sets her apart from front runners Jones and Butch Miller, another relatively well-known state senator.

“Georgians are now starting to really pay attention and I'm randomly getting calls every day between the debate that they saw, or whatever, but it's definitely been tough," she said.

"I mean, I've got a list of every media resource publication in this state and do you think many of them ever want to do an interview? No, they don't, so it's been a challenge."

When it comes to television ads, the University of Georgia's Bullock said Jones and Miller are getting plenty of air time on Atlanta-area stations, but that isn’t the case for Seaver.

“Most of the votes in the primary are going to be cast by people who live in that Atlanta viewing area. So she's simply having a very difficult time informing voters of her affection towards Donald Trump or that she worked on his campaign in the past. If you can't get your message out, then you have a hard time,” Bullock said.

As election day gets closer, Seaver remains confident in her campaign. She's ramping up appearances and pushing her top concerns, which range from election integrity and the elimination of Georgia’s state income tax to banning casino gambling.

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Seaver has also been certified by the Georgia Life Alliance. She is also the only candidate to be endorsed by the Georgia Right to Life Political Action Committee.

“I don't have millions of dollars, so I can't run all the TV ads. I hope to have a few radio ads up, but you know, I'm very conservative with the donors' money that I have received. But it hasn't been a whole lot,” she said.

While she wants to be first in the race, Seaver said she’d settle for a runoff.

“I would love to make the runoff, because like I said, I just hope that I can get my name out there enough. But I know it's a great disadvantage, because I don't have millions of dollars, but we'll see.”

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Jeanne Seaver pushes ahead in Lt. Gov. race without Trump endorsement