The 2020 election is looming large over the Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary as three men who played critical roles in defending or challenging the state’s presidential results look to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R).

State Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, state Attorney General Chris Carr and state Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are vying for the GOP nod to be Georgia's next top executive.

Jones was one of more than a dozen fake electors who sought to overturn former President Biden's narrow win over President Trump in the state and has earned Trump's endorsement. Meanwhile, Raffensperger and Carr both garnered coverage for rebuffing Trump’s efforts to overturn the results.

The dynamic has turned the GOP primary into a barometer for how willing Georgia Republicans are to support an independent-minded candidate, or whether they prioritize loyalty to Trump above all else.

“I think it's gonna play a part,” said former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a former adviser to Trump in 2016, referring to the 2020 election.

“If not actively, it's in people's hardwiring,” he added.

Georgia was one of a handful of states to narrowly go for Biden over Trump five years ago. The Peach State subsequently became ground zero for election conspiracies and efforts to overturn Trump’s losses.

Jones, who was a state senator at the time, was among a slate of 16 alternative electors who sought to overturn Biden’s win in the state, though he was not charged with any wrongdoing.

Peter Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia who made that determination,

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