Ten GOP Delegates File Lawsuit to Protect Integrity of Republican Party

Atlanta, GA – On Thursday of last week, ten Republican delegates from last year’s state convention filed a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment against the GA GOP for violating its own rules of party governance when they allowed Brad Raffensperger to qualify as a candidate on the Republican ballot contrary to the directive of the 2025 Georgia Republican Party convention delegates.

The complaint states: “Plaintiffs do not seek to alter any election result, compel any government action, or regulate the GRP from without. They seek only a declaration that resolutions duly passed by the GRP State Convention are binding upon the GRP State Executive Committee under the GRP’s own Rules; and that the Executive Committee’s certification of Brad Raffensperger in direct defiance of such a resolution was therefore void as ultra vires.” (emphasis added)

“We are not seeking any monetary damages from the GA GOP,” said Brandyn James, one of the plaintiffs. “We merely want to ensure this situation doesn’t occur again in the future and a declaratory judgment would be a statement from a Judge warning the GA GOP that they have to follow their own bylaws, and cannot dismiss clear instructions from the convention delegates!”

The written motion passed by the body directed that the Georgia Republican Party “shall not qualify, allow to be qualified, or take any action to allow Brad Raffensperger to qualify as a Republican or run for any elected office as a Republican.”

“The convention said ‘no.’ The Party did it anyway,” said Alex Johnson, attorney and GRA Chairman. “Whatever one thinks about Raffensperger, who thankfully lost in the primary, that institutional problem should concern every Republican.

The point is larger than one candidate.

“The convention was supposed to be the moment when the Republican grassroots spoke with authority,” Alex continued. “But when its decision became inconvenient, its vote was treated like a public opinion survey.”

Some have tried to characterize this effort as being disloyal and a waste of party resources for GOP leadership to have to defend themselves. But the delegates suing said that there would be no need for the suit to “distract” or “eat up party resources” if GA GOP Chairman Josh McKoon was quick to simply admit he was wrong. “If Josh settles by acknowledging he broke the rules, apologizes, and promises to comply with the rules on this point in the future,” said delegate Harvey Wysong, “then it will all be over. We need to clear this issue up now!”

The plaintiffs have made it clear they are not trying to harm the party at all. 

“We care very much about the GA GOP and want to see the party be successful. We know the success of our party depends on it operating with integrity,” said Brandyn James. 

The complaint reads: 

“As a private political party, the GRP possesses a First Amendment right of politicalassociation, including the right to determine its own candidate selection criteria and the right to exclude potential candidates. See California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000).

“The Binding Resolution is an expression of the GRP’s associational right; a determination that Brad Raffensperger does not have the faith and confidence of the GRP.”

Brandyn, Harvey, and the other plaintiffs believe that this effort is necessary and argue that, if successful, it will benefit the party by prohibiting Brad Raffensperger from qualifying for office as a Republican if he were to run for an office in the next election cycle. They also believe, if successful, it would encourage attendance in future state GOP conventions, since many delegates felt defrauded and disillusioned by the party’s actions contradicting the convention delegates. 

“Why travel, pay the registration fee, and spend a whole day participating in a convention where the party officers can just override decisions they disagree with?” said James.

The other plaintiffs who have joined onto this action include Brian Parker from Banks County, Neal Howell from Dade County, Angela Rubino from Floyd County, William Freeman from DeKalb County, Renee Parker from Lowndes County, Michael Opitz from Cobb County, David Nahabedian from Walker County, and Norine Cantor from Hall County. We commend each of them for their integrity and courage.

A declaratory judgment would provide the clarity Republicans need as they evaluate whether or not to spend their own personal resources to attend another GOP convention. 

If you would like to support this effort and help the plaintiffs cover their legal costs, you can donate to their GiveSendGo here: https://www.givesendgo.com/stopraffy/. If you care about the Georgia Republican Party’s future growth and success, would you consider donating a small amount to preserve the integrity of our party? Every donation bolsters and encourages these courageous plaintiffs, and reminds them they are not alone. The grassroots stands behind them!