While GRA members all over the state were busy winning elections to GOP office, at the 8th Congressional District GOP Convention in Bleckley County, delegates were entertaining a resolution that reportedly “condemned the Georgia Republican Assembly.” Austin Futch served as the Chairman of the 8th District Resolutions Committee. This was one of only two resolutions brought forward by the Resolutions Committee in that congressional district.
Out of the 161 delegates at the convention, witnesses reported that only 10 people supported the resolution. One delegate reported that the resolution “talked about building, [and] yet they tear down. Delegates realized that and there was a lot of pushback.
Last Saturday, Republican Assembly members from Cobb, Cherokee, Pickens, Gwinnett, and Fulton counties met to hear speeches and interviews with candidates for District Party office in the 11th and the 6th—and to vote on endorsing many of these candidates!
Videos with the Congressional District GOP Chair & 1st Vice Chair candidates are available to view here and here, respectively. All Chair candidates who were not able to attend in person were also invited to submit a video presentation. Donna Watson, candidate for 6th District GOP Chairwoman, submitted a video on her candidacy, however Dr. Lisa Adkins, who is running for re-election as 11th District Chairwoman did not submit a video. Adkins is being challenged by attorney David Oles who attended. Watson has competition from Jerry Marrinich.
Click to watch the District Chairman Candidate panel.
Attorney David Oles wins the endorsement for 11th District GOP Chairman!
David Oles won the endorsement for 11th District GOP Chairman, but no candidate was able to get the two-thirds votes necessary to win endorsement in the 6th District GOP Chairman’s race.
For the 1st Vice Chairman’s race, attendees heard from Richard Jordan from Cherokee (running for 1st Vice Chairman in the 6th), Chris Mora from Pickens (running for re-election as 1st Vice Chairman in the 11th), and John Beville from Cobb (running for 1st Vice Chairman in the 6th). Absent was Joel Allen from Cobb who has also declared his candidacy in this race. You can watch the video of that candidate panel here.
Richard Jordan won the endorsement for 6th District GOP 1st Vice Chair and Chris Mora won the endorsement for 11th District GOP 1st Vice Chair.
Click to watch the District 1st Vice Chairman Candidate panel.
Attendees listening to the candidates at the GRA District Endorsement Convention
In addition to these candidates, attendees got to hear stump speeches from candidates for various officer positions in these two District organizations and from candidates for state committee. YouTube initially removed the video of these messages (for violating their “community guidelines” by making reference to election fraud) but it has been restored on our GRA YouTube channel, which you can currently watch here.
Click to see the stump speeches from the other candidates.
Below is a preliminary list of candidates who won endorsement at this Republican Assembly District Endorsement Convention for particular positions.
We hope this list will serve as a helpful guide for strong conservative Republican delegates wanting to get the best GOP leaders elected at the 6th & 11th GOP Congressional District Conventions this coming Saturday, April 22nd.
Endorsed District Candidates:
11th District GOP Chair: David Oles
11th District GOP 1st Vice Chair: Chris Mora
11th District GOP Vice Chairman of Communications: James Dvorak
11th District GOP Vice Chair of Events: No Endorsement
11th District GOP Vice Chair of Fundraising: Kelly Sirios
11th District GOP Treasurer: Ann Marie Cosway
11th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: Marcia Cox
11th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: Sandy Docherty
11th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: Todd Smith
11th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: Andy Reprieto
11th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: James Dvorak
11th District GOP State Committee from Cobb: Alicia Adams
11th District GOP State Committee from Pickens: Carolyn Childers
6th District GOP Chair: No Endorsement
6th District GOP 1st Vice Chair: Richard Jordan
6th District GOP Assistant Secretary: Katie Perry
6th District GOP Vice Chair: Siegfried Jucknies
6th District GOP State Committee from Cobb: Michael Optiz
6th District GOP State Committee from Cobb: Tess Redding
6th District GOP State Committee from Cherokee: Honey Burfield
Flowery Branch, GA—Saturday at the 9th Congressional District GA GOP Convention, hundreds of Republican delegates from northeast Georgia voted overwhelmingly to defeat a proposed resolution that would have celebrated the life and political legacy of the late Speaker David Ralston (R-Ellijay). The 9th Congressional District encompasses Ralston’s old State House District. Resolutions Committee Chairman Stephen Aaron from Gilmer County had drafted the resolution and reportedly told the other Resolutions Committee members that the Ralston resolution was “non-negotiable” even though he was warned against presenting it.
The newly elected slate of officers in the 9th Congressional District GA GOP
GA GOP National Committeeman Jason Thompson presided over the 9th District GA GOP Convention. A package of resolutions including the Ralston resolution were originally presented to be voted on at the District Convention altogether, but the body at the convention instead voted to address each resolution individually. When the Ralston resolution was presented, delegates reported that it was “decisively defeated” by a voice vote.
In previous years prior to his death, GA GOP conventions have passed resolutions publicly reprimanding Speaker David Ralston for his bad leadership in the Georgia State House, when he has often squelched conservative Republican policies and legislation ranging from gun rights to pro-life advancements to election integrity and more, while fast-tracking Coporate Cronyist legislation and big-government expansions. He had persecuted fellow Republican legislators more conservative than him. He has also been publicly reprimanded for abusing his political office in his attorney practice.
While it is one thing to express public condolences to Ralston’s family and friends for his passing late last year, it has been shameful how many Republican officials in Atlanta have made public statements praising the late Speaker’s political legacy and implying that he was a model politician that others should emulate. At the time many of these statements were posted, we shared on our Twitter feed a quote from Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, which he providentially made on that same day: “Not every person who dies necessarily deserves to be mourned. You don’t become a good person just because you happen to die.”
We are pleased that this resolution was resoundingly defeated, and we hope that the politicians will take note that their behavior on this subject has been shown to be completely out of sync with the Republican grassroots in Georgia. The late Speaker David Ralston’s example as a politician was deplorable and Republicans in the state legislature should not follow in his example.
You can see the text of the defeated resolution in the image below here:
Former State Senator Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) dropped by the GRA’s 11th & 6th District Endorsement Convention in Canton on Saturday to stump as a candidate for GA GOP Chairman. GRA members from Cobb County, Cherokee County, Pickens County, Gwinnett County, and Fulton County were gathered there to listen to candidates for 11th and 6th District GA GOP office.
The GRA has not yet endorsed any candidate for state GA GOP Chairman. A state GRA Endorsement Convention has been scheduled for April 29th in Smyrna, Georgia, and all three candidates for GA GOP Chairman have been invited to speak. GRA members may vote to endorse one of them by a two-thirds majority vote. The other two candidates running are Rebecca Yardley (retiring 9th District GA GOP Chairwoman) and Dennis Futch (Colquitt County GOP Chairman), and both of them have been invited to come and share.
You can now see McKoon’s speech at the District Endorsement Convention on the Cobb RA’s YouTube Channel here:
Tuesday evening Nathaniel Darnell (NFRA Director for the GRA) and his wife Abigail Darnell (3rd Vice President of the GRA) gave a presentation before the Pickens County Republican Party called “How to Reform the GOP and Save America from Socialism.” Included in that presentation was a slide about the ideal qualities of our GOP leaders.
These are qualities we would recommend you use to evaluate any candidates for District GOP leadership or state GA GOP leadership as you prepare to vote for those positions in the coming weeks:
Are you tired of GOP officers being “yes men” and covering for bad Republican politicians—who vote like Democrats? Do you want the Georgia to be in a strong position for the elections next year? This is your opportunity to help reform the Republican Party in Georgia!
The Georgia Republican Assembly has announced its state-wide Endorsement Convention to hear from and potentially endorse candidates for GA GOP Chairman and other officer positions. The State Endorsement Convention will be held on Saturday, April 29th at the American Legion building in Smyrna, GA. You can register for the event here.
Remember that in order to vote in a GRA Endorsement Convention, you must have been approved as a GRA member before the convention day. If you would like to apply to become a GRA member, you can join here.
As with all our endorsement conventions, it takes a two-thirds majority of our participating members for a candidate to earn the endorsement of the organization. This is a great opportunity for you to meet like-minded new friends with political passion from across the state! Lunch is included in the registration.
All GA GOP Chair candidates are invited to speak at this event! We also invite all other candidates for state party office to come and share.
Former President Donald Trump speaking at the NFRA Convention
In addition to voting on state endorsements, the GRA State Convention this year will also be electing delegates to represent the GRA at the NFRA’s National Endorsement Convention in Orlando, Florida in October. This year RA delegates at the NFRA Convention will vote on endorsing a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. You could be one of the delegates selected to vote on this critical endorsement.Let us know if you are interested in being considered for this opportunity as soon as possible!
Here is the important information about this State Endorsement Convention:
State Republican Assembly Endorsement Convention Saturday, April 29, 2023 | Starting at 10:00am American Legion – Smyrna Post 160 | 160 Legion Drive SE Smyrna, GA 30080 Online Registration: $40 Lunch included!
