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Other District GOP Conventions Pass Resolutions to Abolish Abortion, Enact Election Integrity, & Reprimand Republican Legislators Who Voted for H.B. 520

April 24, 2023 by Nathaniel Darnell in conventions

On Saturday many District GOP Conventions advanced resolutions that promoted historic Republican principles and called for accountability from GOP legislators. In both the 14th and 3rd Districts, for example, those conventions overwhelmingly passed resolutions supporting legislation such as the Prenatal Equal Protection Act that would completely abolish abortion in Georgia. Regretfully, that legislation was assigned by State House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) to the Public Health Committee, Chaired by State Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Cobb), who has not allowed the bill to come before the committee for a discussion or vote. You can read the full text of that resolution (with scrivener errors corrected) at this link.

In addition, numerous Election Integrity resolutions passed at these conventions — both as recommended from their District Resolutions Committees and as introduced from the floor. In the 14th District, for example, a resolution was introduced from the floor and passed that called for the state to get rid of open primaries and to oppose rank-choice voting.

*The members of the 14th District GOP Resolutions Committee*

Several resolutions called out Republican elected lawmakers by name both for praise as well as for censure. The 3rd District, for example, reprimanded Congressman Drew Ferguson for failing to take “bold action in defense of Americans unjustly treated after January 6th.” Both the 3rd and 14th Districts passed resolutions against H.B. 520 (“Mental Health” bill) that was recently stalled in the state legislature after it passed in the State House with only three Republicans voting against it.

That resolution in the 14th District praised GRA-endorsed State Rep. Mitchell Horner (R-Ringgold) for being one of the three Republican legislators who voted against H.B. 520. Horner is also a member of the Georgia Freedom Caucus.

*State Rep. Mitchell Horner (center) with our NFRA Director & 3rd Vice President*

“Be it Resolved that the 14th District GOP expresses their gratitude to Rep. Mitchell Horner (R-Ringgold) HD-3 for having the courage to vote ‘No’ to this egregious legislation.

“Be it further Resolved that the 14th District GOP expresses their grave disappointment in all the Republicans who voted for this legislation, including:

“Rep. Mike Cameron (R-Rossville) HD 1
“Rep. Steve Tarvin (R-Chickamauga) HD 2
“Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) HD 4
“Rep. Matt Barton (R-Calhoun) HD 5
“Rep. Jason Ridley (R-Chatsworth) HD 6
“Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) HD 12
“Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) HD 13
“Rep. Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown) HD-16
“Rep. Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas) HD-17
“Rep. Joseph Gullett (R-Dallas) HD-19
“Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Marietta) HD-36”.

You can read the full text of the 14th District GOP’s version of this resolution here.

11th & 6th District RA Endorsement Convention Results!

April 18, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Campaign / Candidates / conventions

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

9th District GOP Convention Resoundingly Defeats Resolution Celebrating Life & Legacy of Speaker David Ralston

April 17, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions / State Legislator

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.

For years the GRA has publicly criticized the former Speaker for his 13 years of bad leadership in the State House, demonstrated in numerous ways we have described many times both before and after he announced his retirement from office. We have even been publicly vilified by the AJC and the Atlanta Establishment (and their cronies) for our critiques.

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:

Josh McKoon Speaks at GRA 11th & 6th District Endorsement Convention

April 15, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Candidates

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:

Ideal Qualities for an Accountability-Minded GOP Officer

April 12, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in events

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:

GRA State Endorsement Convention: Saturday, April 29th

April 10, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions / events

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!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS STATE ENDORSEMENT CONVENTION.

11th & 6th Congressional District Endorsement Convention: April 15th

March 31, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions

The North Metro & Cobb GRA chapters’ “Candidate Endorsement Convention” for the 11th & 6th Congressional District is scheduled for April 15th at 11am-2:00pm with registration opening today.

Location:
Cherokee Charter Academy
2126 Sixes Road
Canton, GA 30114

REGISTRATION
Includes Lunch!
$19.95 at door.
Early Bird Special (if registered before April 7th) : $14.95

Hear Candidates from 6th & 11th District to learn more about the candidates.

Become a GRA Member before April 7th to be eligible to vote. A 2/3 majority is needed for a candidate to be endorsed.

Please consider joining today!

Fulton RA Condemns Racist Remarks at Fulton County Commission Meeting

March 17, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Issues

The Fulton Republican Assembly chapter condemns the r acist conduct of Fulton County Commissioners Khadijah Abdur-Rahman and Marvin Arrington, Jr., in their interaction with fellow commissioner Bridget Thorne. “I’m offended at your white privilege!” Khadijah shouted at Bridget in the meeting.

The comments were made at the March 15th Fulton County Commission meeting when discussing action item 23-0208. We also condemn the rest of the Board of Commissioners for not standing up for Commissioner Thorne when those racist sentiments were uttered, especially Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, who failed to restore proper professional decorum to the meeting.

More importantly, we condemn the toxic ideology from which these racist sentiments spring forth: critical race theory. This utterly destructive ideology has infected the minds of far too many Americans and has led to a worsening of racial tensions, which hurts people of ALL races and social classes. It is a tragic shame that people like Commissioners Abdur-Rahman and Arrington are anywhere near the levers of power at any level of government since their concern is clearly not for the welfare of their constituents. They apparently prefer to grandstand with racially charged comments about a fellow commissioner rather than work towards finding common-ground solutions for the serious problems that their constituents face. Their constituents deserve better representation.

If a hospital is closing down somewhere in Fulton County, the Board of Commissioners has a duty to investigate why the fundamental economics of the venture made operating a hospital in that part of Fulton County financially infeasible. None of the other commissioners disputed any of the financial numbers that Commissioner Thorne provided in her statement. If the Board is legitimately concerned about the health care needs of its constituents, it needs to examine the heavy handed role that government taxes and regulations play in making hospital operations economically unsound in Fulton County – NOT to attack a fellow commissioner who is trying to solve the problem.

Commissioner Thorne is an equal voice on that Board and deserves to be treated with respect. In the face of the racist attacks against her, she continued to conduct herself in a professional manner and with the best interests of the residents of Fulton County in mind. Commissioner Thorne is a hero. The commissioners who attacked her based on the color of her skin are an utter disgrace to the seats of government they occupy. The other commissioners who piled on or otherwise stood by while that attack took place are cowards.

The Fulton Republican Assembly hereby calls for an immediate apology to be issued to Commissioner Thorne from the rest of the Board.

Cobb County GOP Sets New Standards in Honoring Volunteers Ahead of Elected Officials & Political Industry

March 16, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions

The Cobb County GOP sends close to the largest delegation to the state convention most years. It also sends delegations to four congressional districts conventions now.

In the past, elected officials have usually been placed at the front of the line to serve as delegates, even though many of these elected officials stand on the sidelines and don’t participate in controversial votes at the conventions, so as not to upset their constituents. Their delegate votes thus are often wasted.

This year the Nominating Committee for Cobb County adopted a new policy: “We chose to prioritize and give preference to our hard-working grassroots volunteers in the county who have labored to help the organization, the cause, and candidate campaigns completely at their own expense—without expecting any financial reward— over elected officials,” said Cobb Nominating Committee Chairman Nathaniel Darnell. Nathaniel also serves as the Chairman for the Cobb County RA chapter. Chris Deeb, the President of the Cobb RA chapter, served as Vice Chairman of the Nominating Committee. Nine other conservatives, activists, and former candidates from the county also served on the committee.

*Other members of the 2023 Cobb County GOP Nominating Committee*

“This was not to disrespect any Republican elected official in Cobb County, but rather to honor the many men and women upon whose shoulders they stand: our grassroots volunteers,” Nathaniel continued. As a result, all Cobb County elected officials were placed on the alternate list by default during early Nominating Committee deliberations. By the conclusion, the committee voted to remove only one Cobb Republican elected official from both the delegate and alternate lists due to bad behavior in the state legislature.

*Nathaniel Darnell, Cobb RA Chairman &*
*GRA NFRA Director*

This policy represents a shift in thinking within the Georgia Republican Party: Instead of the grassroots being treated as being at the bottom of the totem pole with the elite elected officials, corporate lobbyists, and paid political industry riding on their backs, true self-sacrificing Patriots were given the foremost respect.

These are people with nothing to gain from their activism (other than just working to make the world a better place). We suggest that this group is more likely to be objective about what is best for the party, since they aren’t thinking about how to climb the ladder or make money in the political industry.

While some paid members of the political industry, such as Brittany Ellison from east Cobb (who has also publicly posted false and vulgar attacks about fellow Republicans on her social media), took to the microphone to complain about being nominated as merely an alternate behind grassroots volunteers, no one at the Cobb County GOP Convention complained about the elected officials taking a back seat. No one made a motion to move up an elected official in Cobb from an alternate to a delegate position. The Nominating Committee’s policy concerning elected officials was therefore approved by the body at the county convention.

Those who sacrificially give of their “three Ts” (their time, their treasure, and their talents) expecting no personal enrichment, should always be given such preference. They are the heart and soul of the Republican Party.

Establishment District Chairs Look to Throw Out County Delegate Elections in Cherokee & Fulton

March 15, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions

In Cherokee County, as the county convention was still going on into the evening on Saturday, several delegates reported that current District 11 Chairwoman Lisa Adkins from Cobb County showed up and began circulating a petition to collect signatures to have the convention results thrown out. “Our convention wasn’t even over yet!” said North Metro RA Chairman Richard Jordan. “If they thought something was wrong, we still had time to fix it, but instead they were working to have the convention thrown out because they didn’t like the results. Sounds like a big conflict of interest for the District 11 Chairwoman to be circulating that petition.”

Some delegates have reported that their names were forged on the petition document without their permission, and others have said that they signed it without knowing what it was and want their names removed from it now.

Ensuring Cherokee’s district delegates were thrown out could potentially increase Dr. Lisa Adkins chances of winning re-election at the District 11 Convention on April 22nd. Adkins had voted two years ago on the state committee to over-turn “America First” candidate Susan Opraseuth‘s election as Fulton County GOP Chairwoman, and has in other ways aligned herself with the interests of the Establishment in Atlanta. Her husband Roy Adkins has spread maligning material against the GRA on social media. Lisa was originally elected as District 11 GOP Chair not by a convention of delegates but by the District 11 GOP Committee after redistricting when the previous District 11 Chair was moved to a different congressional district.

*Attorney David Oles from Pickens County*

She is being challenged for District 11 Chair by attorney David Oles of Pickens County. Oles announced his campaign for District 11 Chairman on Monday morning, March 13th.

When asked directly about her involvement in the petition that circulated at the Cherokee County Convention, Lisa Adkins denied personally initiating the petition or telling anyone directly to disseminate it. She did, however, admit to going to the Cherokee County Convention after the Cobb County Convention ended and admitted to advising a group on how to create such a petition before the Cherokee convention was completed (rather than advising them on how to correct the alleged underlying concerns with the county convention before it ended so that it wouldn’t need to be thrown out), including telling them how many signatures would be required, and what the process would be to submit it to review to her District 11 Committee for appeal. “Even that degree of involvement from her,” said a delegate, “makes her an accessory to the effort, which she had no business getting involved in. The conflict of interest concern still stands.”

Meanwhile, current 6th District Chairman Joel Natt is also reportedly looking to see if the Fulton County GOP delegation would be thrown out on a technicality because the previous administration supposedly was late in sending in their newspaper notice of the event. Such an error would have been by the previous administration, not the newly elected one, and arguably had little to no impact on the outcome, if it actually happened.

These cases seem to be yet another example of the Establishment refusing to accept an outcome where they do not win. It appears to be a repeat of the trick used with Fulton and Chatham County when they lost county elections there two years ago.