Josh McKoon re-elected as GOP chairman amid ideological divisions

DALTON GA By the time nearly Republican delegates were driving away from their annual state convention a vigorous storm had descended on Dalton rocking cars dislodging a glass door at the convention center entry and tearing a flag off one of the poles outside Party stalwarts fear another kind of storm could tear at GOP unity as a momentous electoral contest year approaches But despite various discontent the delegates voted overwhelmingly to re-elect Josh McKoon as their chairman Otherwise nothing earth-shaking happened A resolution to bar Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from running as a Republican did pass but McKoon later announced it was possibly not legally enforceable Josh McKoon Credit LinkedInAnd no one unexpectedly declared their candidacy for the U S Senate or for the smorgasbord of other seats that have opened up or appear to possibly be open as the incumbents either launch or consider a run for higher office Up for grabs next year are the governor s office the attorney general s office and likely the office of lieutenant governor The national Republican Party is also targeting the Senate seat now occupied by Democrat Jon Ossoff In Ossoff the delegates detected a unifying cause with leaders labeling him a liberal extremist and in the words of U S Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene R-Rome a spoiled brat Greene was allotted more time than anyone else talking for about minutes to close out the speeches Saturday before candidates for party office took the stage Greene has ruled out a run for Ossoff s seat but when questioned in an interview if she was considering a run for governor next year the final year for term-limited Republican Brian Kemp Greene commented she is inevitably keeping my options open She revealed she demands to consult with family friends and supporters so I don t have a time frame but it is something I will think through Others announced to be considering higher office including Lt Gov Burt Jones the Republican who presides over the state Senate and members of Congress besides Greene also spoke without revealing their plans This vote year is the quiet one before next year s storm The only major race is for two seats on the state Masses Arrangement Commission PSC Georgia s Republican-led utility regulator Both Tim Echols one of the GOP incumbents and Republican challenger Lee Muns fretted over turnout during this early voting period before the June primary I don t want to start this convention off being a Debbie Downer but I m having trouble getting my own relatives to go to the polls Echols declared to a small crowd as the convention got underway Friday afternoon Ideological purity was a through-line of the convention with assertions of loyalty to President Donald Trump opposition to everything transgender God made only two genders sponsorship for Israel opposition to the state income tax and a commitment to power dominance The very first words that God spoke to us in his word is Let there be light explained Tricia Pridemore who serves on the PSC Think about that John King the elected state insurance and safety fire commissioner who is running in the GOP primary for Ossoff s Senate seat noted on Friday that Trump had sent him to secure the frontier with Mexico when he was a major general in the U S Army National Guard a role he retired from two years ago U S Rep Buddy Carter R-St Simons the first elected official to announce for Ossoff s seat praised Trump and his vitality approach while criticizing Ossoff for his positions on immigration transgender guidelines and Israel Another promising candidate for that Senate seat U S Rep Michael Collins R-Jackson mentioned in an interview that he was not close to deciding on a run But his speech on stage Saturday was preceded by a recording of hip hop music overlaid with Trump s voice and he wore a white ball cap that revealed Gulf of America Like God we ve got Donald Trump s back and we are going to continue to make America great Collins noted He asserted Georgia is a red state adding We re going to send that trust fund boy Ossoff home and we re going to put us a solid conservative in that seat No declared candidate for governor spoke although Jones talked about state Senate passage of conservative bill under his watch and he shared an anecdote about Trump answering his phone calls within a ring or two Attorney General Chris Carr who has communicated he is running for governor did not speak though he did hold a rally at a nearby pizza spot Friday There were also candidates up on stage both disclosed and presumed for the seats as of now held by Jones and Carr John F Kennedy a Republican state senator from Macon revealed he was running for Jones lieutenant governor seat even though Jones has not yet declared he s leaving it to run for governor Kennedy the Senate president pro tempore had tipped his hand a couple of weeks ago by registering to raise money to campaign for the office as had Sen Blake Tillery R-Vidalia Tillery spoke about his unsuccessful bill that targeted debanking but didn t openly declare he was running for lieutenant governor Sen Steve Gooch R-Dahlonega who declared for Jones seat in mid-May claimed credit for creating an America First car tag for Georgia We need to defend the America-First agenda that President Trump ignited the Senate majority leader noted Both Kennedy and Tillery co-sponsored the bill which Kemp signed into law Gooch also mentioned it is time to eliminate Georgia s state income tax Greene reported Georgia should eliminate the income tax too and she declared the state should deal with homelessness by reopening mental hospitals Greene also acknowledged a little bit of a quarrel going on which would later manifest in booing when party leaders revealed that the voting to select the chairman and other party leadership positions would be conducted with electronic clickers rather than the paper ballots prepared by a contingent in orange vests This convention has been rigged noted Norine Cantor a candidate for second vice chair who disclosed the party lacked morals and values When Kylie Kremer a candidate for another leadership post disclosed the way the party was being run was a disgrace various in the crowd roared their approval You guys have no idea what a functioning party looks like because this is all you know she added Neither won a place in party leadership McKoon handily won re-election taking nearly of the votes clicked for the chairmanship After the convention he declared paper ballots would have been too slow though he mentioned the state has the support to pull off an electoral contest with paper McKoon shrugged off the disagreement I really appreciate the confidence of the delegates here in Dalton he noted To win by a two-to-one margin is really pretty humbling The post Josh McKoon re-elected as GOP chairman amid ideological divisions appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta