2023 Candidates For Georgia Republican Party Offices

Notes

1. Biographical information – age, family, where you live now and are originally from
Growing up in Longmeadow, a small town in Western Massachusetts, I was raised by incredible parents who never went to college, instilled a strong work ethic and believed in family values. They always told me that I could do anything I put my mind to – and encouraged me every step of the way. My father, Howard Baer was a Navy Veteran, worked for Max Factor for over a decade and then owned a dry cleaning and laundromat. My mother, Dianne Baer was a great mom who worked part time in the school cafeteria to ensure that she was home for my brother and me. Both my mother and father are now deceased.

After enduring a Snowmaggedon in Boston, I happily became a Georgia Peach in 1994. I have been a DeKalb County resident since my arrival. I was married to Robert in May of 2000. We reside in Brookhaven with our three dogs, Bella, Cowboy and Nugget. I am 52 years young.

2. Employment History
Marci McCarthy is the CEO and Chairman of ISE® Talent and the CEO and President of T.E.N., an information security executive networking and relationship-marketing firm. With nearly 30 years of business management and entrepreneurial experience, McCarthy founded T.E.N.’s flagship program, the Information Security Executive® of the Year (ISE®) Program Series, which is lauded by the IT industry as the premier recognition and networking program for security professionals in the U.S. and Canada.

A 2012 recipient of a 4th Congressional District of Georgia Citation, McCarthy was lauded for fostering greater visibility and professionalism for the IT security industry, naming March 13th “Marci McCarthy Day.” McCarthy was listed as one of IFSEC Global’s Security and Fire Influencers for 2018 as #3 of 20 total leaders in their Cybersecurity category; she was also the highest-ranking woman on the list. In 2022, Marci received a proclamation from the Georgia State Senate recognizing her leadership and dedication to improving security in
the State of Georgia, both in our information technology systems and at the ballot box, ensuring trust both by the people of Georgia.

Marci currently serves Spirion’s Board of Directors and on University of Alabama’s Culverhouse Cyber Executive Board of Advisors. Most recently, Marci was the Inaugural Advisory Council Chair for the National Technology Security Coalition (NTSC), was the longest serving TechBridge Board Member and served on the Atlanta Girls’ School Board of Trustees.

McCarthy is also a former member of the Board of Directors for the Cyversity and partnered with the organization to create “The Marci McCarthy Cybersecurity Certification Scholarship Program,” which provides $5,000 over a two-year period to help talented women and minority students advance into cybersecurity and obtain their CompTIA Security+ Professional Certification. Eight deserving individuals have been awarded this scholarship to date.

McCarthy has been a guest lecturer, speaker, and moderator at national conferences such as the ISE® Executive Forum and Award Program Series, many ISSA Local Chapter and International Conferences, and more, speaking on cybersecurity, women in technology/security/business, STEAM, entrepreneurism, and leadership topics.
See Linked in Profile

3. Educational History
Babson College – Bachelor of Science, Marketing, Magna Cum Laude 1993
Longmeadow High School Diploma 1989

4. Criminal/Legal History
I have no criminal record.

5. History of political involvement – Positions Held, etc.
Marci McCarthy is currently the Chairman of the DeKalb Republican Party – winning her second term unanimously and was endorsed by her party for First Vice Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Due her strong leadership and vision during the 2022 Midterm Elections, Marci doubled Republican turnout and increased the margins of victory in the second bluest county in the state of Georgia. Previously, Marci was the DeKalb GOP Vice-Chairman of Communications and was Chairwoman of their Breakfast Series. She also serves on the GAGOP Foundation Board of Governors and is a State Committee Member representing Georgia 4th Congressional District. In 2020 Marci was elected as a National Delegate where she represented the Georgia 6th Congressional District at the Republican National Convention. She also was the Trump Victory Campaign Chairwoman for DeKalb County and recognized as one of the top 150 fundraisers in the country raising tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, Marci served as an underwriter of the 58th Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC), a non-profit organization that was charged with organizing President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration Day and Week. Marci is a Lifetime Member of the NRA and actively involved with their Women’s Leadership Forum. She is a member of the Election Integrity Network’s Leadership Council of Election Integrity Coalitions.

For 2020 the combined Presidential Primary/Run Off Elections, November General/Special Elections and for the January Senator Run-Off Elections, Marci has served on DeKalb County Board of Elections Voter Review Panel (VRPs). Marci in partnership with GAGOP assembled the largest grassroots army by building the infrastructure and recruiting over 500 volunteers from across the country to serve as Poll Watchers, Absentee Ballot Observers and VRPs to monitor Georgia’s Senator Run-Off Elections in DeKalb County. Additionally, Marci has testified as an expert witness on election integrity for both the Senate and House of Representatives in Georgia’s General Assembly where her testimony was aired live on Fox News, NewsMax, RightSide Broadcasting, NTT News, Epoch Times and OANN.

Marci has followed politics, like people follow football in the South, with a fervor of interest in Republican candidates at the federal, state and local levels. In the past, McCarthy watched from the sidelines, but that all changed on June 16, 2015 with Donald J. Trump declaring his intentions to run for President. The “Escalator Ride that Changed America” captured Marci’s attention and his slogan “Make America Great Again” resonated with her as an entrepreneur and small business owner. From that moment forward, Marci became an outspoken champion for the future President Trump attending multiple rallies and fundraisers as well was an Underwriter of the 2016 Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC).

Marci has been a featured speaker for the Fulton County Republican Women (FCRW), North DeKalb Republican Women (NDRW), National Rifle Association (NRA) Women’s Leadership Forum, President’s Club and Cobb County Republican Women’s Club (CCRWC). She also has been interviewed by ABC News Nightline, Fox 5 News, WSB-TV, Atlanta Journal Constitiution (AJC) as well as The Sara Carter Show.

6. GRA membership – how long a member, why did you join (or why you have not joined yet)?
Referred by Alex Johnson, I have been a proud member of the GRA since 2021. As stated on my vetting application, I joined the GRA o connect with other like-minded epublicans and to expand my political network. This holds true today. Additionally, I have endorsed by the GRA for both terms of being elected as DeKalb GOP Chairman.

7. Other political/professional/social organization memberships
Please responses in questions 2 and 5.

8. Donations made/candidates and committees supported
From the beginning, I was an outspoken champion for President Trump. The majority of our family and my husband supported Trump in his run for the White House – from attending multiple rallies and numerous Trump Victory fundraisers. Robert and I proudly served as underwriters of the 58th Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC), a non-profit organization that was charged with organizing President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration Day and Week. In 2020, serving on as the Trump Victory Campaign Chairwoman for DeKalb County, I recruited sixteen volunteer fundraisers known as “Bundlers” raising tens of thousands as well as been ranked as one of the top 150 fundraisers in the country. Additionally, I have participated in National Call Days with the First Family and other top campaign surrogates. Through my proven leadership skills and strong sense of patriotism, I have had a positive impact for GAGOP and DeKalb GOP by supporting numerous candidates running for Senatorial Races, Congressional Seats, Local and Statewide Offices by emceeing events, being featured in commercials, interviewed by media, campaigning in-person, making donations to their campaigns, serving as a trusted campaign advisor as well as hosting fundraisers.

I have led DeKalb GOP in active engagement in elections from poll watching, to vote review panels to recruiting 25 candidates on the ballot in the primary and then 17 in the general in the 2022 midterm Georgia State House races. From 2018 to 2022, we were able to double Republican turn out which directly contributed to the re-election of Governor Kemp and all of our Republican Constitutional offices. For the first time in decades in the second bluest county, we made Democrats work harder while Republicans worked smarter.
I currently serve on the GAGOP Foundation Board of Directors and I am an active member of the Fulton County Republican Women (FCRW), North DeKalb Republican Women (NDRW) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) Women’s Leadership Forum. I have also been a panelist at NRA Women’s Leadership Forum Summit 2020 and have served as an NRA Ring of Freedom Co-Chair. I have served as a Host for several Clay Shooting Events that benefitted the NRA School Shield Program which provides grants to K-12 schools offering them the opportunity to improve their school safety. I have also co-emceed the Presidents’ Club “United Faces of American Rally” and their other marquis events. I am also a member of the Election Integrity Network’s Leadership Council of Election Integrity Coalitions.

In 2019, I co-hosted private dinner in Atlanta featuring Charlie Kirk, raising thousands of dollars for the Turning Point USA, whose mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote freedom.

In 2018, Invited by President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania and The White House Historical Society to attend the Arrival Ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron and Mrs. Macron

Subsequent to the 2016 election, I have increased my involvement with the Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) by supporting numerous candidates running for U.S. Congressional seats, statewide offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Labor Commissioner) and State House and U.S. Senate. This included campaigning in-person, making donations to their campaigns, attending a myriad of events as well as hosting fundraisers and political events in my home. I have continued these efforts up and through the 2022 midterm elections and I will continue to do so.

See Open Secrets Report

9. What principled legislative initiatives have you supported, and what bad legislation/policy have you opposed?
As Georgia is on the forefront of ensuring FITness – Faith, Integrity and Trust in our elections, the GAGOP needs a First Vice Chairman that is vigilant and is aggressively advancing election integrity. It was just in late January when I learned that the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections office had received a grant of $2 Million from Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL)’s U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, which was funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It was no small task with a short window to accomplish this with the Georgia General Assembly already in session, SB222 was introduced into the Senate Hopper on February 21, 2023. Many pathways were pursued and through the building of a coalition of activist citizens and elected officials as well as local and national election integrity groups were instrumental to the final passage of SB222 on March 29, 2023 (Sine Die).

SB222 makes the acceptance of third-party funds a criminal felony with a mandatory minimum of one year jail sentence and a minimum fine of $10,000. It also funds the Georgia’s State Board of Elections and requires every County Elections Office to submit an accurate annual budget.

10. What are your top three priorities for the role you are seeking?
For Georgia Republicans to win in 2024, the GAGOP must become a year-round service organization that is led by a new leadership team that is already fighting for our values, looking ahead to the future and is leading with clarity and courage—not resting on their laurels of past.

Since I was elected as the Chairwoman of the DeKalb County Republican Party in April of 2021, then unanimously re-elected this past March, I fight Democrats —not Republicans and win. As a fellow grassroots leader, I know what it takes to ensure that our field organizations have the resources necessary to deliver every ballot to the ballot box competitively. By being candidate-driven and recruiting a new generation of leaders that have our shared values to run in unchallenged districts in a Primary, we had Republicans go head-to head with a Democrat in the General. Our results speak for themselves and can be replicated throughout Georgia. By having 25 candidates on the ballot in the primary and then 17 in the General, we doubled Republican turn out in the mid-term primary (From 2018 to 2022). We increased the margins of victory by tens of thousands of votes in the General – which directly contributed to the reelection of Governor Kemp and the election all of our Republican Constitutional Officers. For the first time in decades in the second bluest county, we made Democrats work harder where Republicans worked smarter.

As demonstrated by successful business career in the cyber security industry, through my team-oriented leadership style as DeKalb GOP Chairman and by stopping Zuckerbucks, I deliver results. I will bring my proven skills and expertise to the GAGOP in the following areas that are outlined below.

Above all, our electoral success going forward requires that we work together to modernize our infrastructure,
improve our communications and inspire meaningful engagement with like-minded Georgians. We need each
other to win!

11. What is your position on GRA’s principles and goals (see hdps://georgiara.com/party-goals/ ) ?
Across our great state of Georgia, it’s clear we have different cultures, lifestyles and priorities depending on where we live. If we do not continue to improve Republican and Conservative participation with increased margins of victory and turnout in every corner area of our State, including the Metro areas, we will soon be dominated and governed by Metro-Area Progressive Democrats.

For Georgia Republicans to win in 2024, the GAGOP must be led by a strong leadership team that is ready to fight for our values, look ahead to the future and lead with clarity and courage. We need to aggressively advance and ensure election integrity. We need each other to keep Georgia red. The GRA has done an excellent job of articulating conservative and goals. As such my views are in alignment with the GRA because we need each other to win.

12. What do you believe is the role of the party in holding politicians accountable?
Georgia Republicans won on November 8, 2022 thanks to a strong slate of candidates, their positions on issues that matter to voters, and a targeted ground game. Leading the Republican Party in the Georgia’s second bluest county, I have focused my efforts on fighting Democrats – not Republicans and winning. The most recent example is the Georgia General Assembly passing of SB222 –now the blueprint for slamming the door on the ZUCKERBUCKS loophole in Georgia and nationwide. In the two months, we have exposed a scheme from high-ranking DeKalb County officials for secretly circumventing Georgia’s election integrity law and the commandeered DeKalb County taxpayer funded resources for her own personal political gain. Funded by Mark Zuckerberg’s Center for Tech and Civic Life, DeKalb County was the test ground for the Democrats to funnel private money to influence and buy Georgia’s elections. It was a huge team effort and a heavy liL in a short period of time — but it came down to strong leadership and the ability to building trusted relationships with a common goal of FITness. Additionally, there is an active investigation underway by the State Board of Elections. When you talk about unity amongst the Republican Party this is a real example not just an empty campaign promise.

With our nation being in the crosshairs, the work we all do by being engaged at our County GOPs and Congressional Districts is the foundation on which we can have success throughout our state on the values we hold as Republicans. In today’s volatile political landscape, the idea that the point of democracy is to implement legislative outcomes that are supported by broad-based surveys seems almost like a straw man dreamed up by an eighteenth-century monarchist. The purpose of a political system is to resolve political questions in a satisfactory way. When you hire a plumber, you don’t want him to ask you how you think the plumbing should be fixed. You’ve hired him so that he can look at the situation and do what needs to be done. Your role as the customer is to try to find a plumber with a good reputation, to recommend him to others if he’s done a good job, and to fire him if he can’t make it work.

Representative government is not so different. The watchword of democracy should not be responsiveness but rather accountability.

In a well-functioning system, voters should elect a team of politicians and then fire them if their performance is seen as unsatisfactory. Seen in this light, the problem with American democracy today is that the intersection of counter-majoritarian legislative procedures and increased partisan polarization has blurred the lines of responsibility.

All of these factors are critical to win in a battleground state with a growing group of independent, swing, diverse and younger voters. By creating a candidate driven infrastructure, we can inspire the talent that is comprised of a new generation of leaders that will govern and share our conservative values. As we head into presidential primaries and a tumultuous election year in 2024, we’ll be in a different environment as national candidates and issues take center stage. We can build on work started in the midterm elections, especially by acting locally and outsmarting our opponents on the ground.

13. List your social media accounts
Facebook @MarciMcCarthyUS | Twitter @MarciMcCarthyUS

14. Who are your political heroes?
A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. There are many politicians that I admire for a myriad of reasons. Many I am proud to call friends. The collective reason that I admire the following people as they inspire to bring us together through our shared values and priorities despite differing viewpoints on particular issues. They are fighting for us.
• President Donald J. Trump
• U.S. Congressman Rich McCormick
• U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene
• U.S. Congressman Barry Loudermilk
• U.S. Congresswoman Kat Cammack (Florida)
• U.S. Congressman Pat Fallon (Texas)
• Former U.S. Senator David Perdue
• Former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler
• U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
• U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn
• Governor Ron Desantis
• Governor Kristi Noem
• Lt. Governor Burt Jones
• Georgia Senator Max Burns
• Georgia Senator Shawn Still
• Georgia Representative Rey Martinez
• Georgia Representative Scott Hilton
• Janelle and Kelvin King
• Dr. Alveda King
• Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union
• All the Women Warriors in the NRA’s Women Leadership Forum —And many more –!
By focusing on growing the GAGOP to create enduring relationships, I will be a liaison for my fellow County GOP Chairs, Congressional Chairmen, elected officials – statewide and nationally, candidates and grassroots contributors to find common ground between the metro, suburban and rural areas to create a path to victoryin 2024.

15. Why are you seeking the endorsement of the GRA?
The methods that won us elections in the last few decades are no longer effective. It is one my many goals to connect with more Georgians via targeted communications. To widen the tent and share our message of conservative values, I regularly engage with a spectrum of media outlets and influencers. I will continue to engage in two-way conversations, foster trust, and build relationships with all of our stakeholders to include our donors, grassroots contributors, candidates, officials, like-minded voters and media.

I am the GRA. I am a GRA member. I have endorsed by the GRA for both terms of being elected as DeKalb GOP Chairman. It would be an honor to have the GRA stand with as GAGOP First Vice Chairman and join me as a partner in this outreach.

16. What will you do to keep the Georgia State GOP aligned with the grassroots conservative movement of Georgia instead of being driven by the National GOP?
Times have changed in Georgia. We are more diverse, younger, tech-savvy and reside in densely populated areas. We have an election month vs. an election day. It’s time to elect new leadership to reinvent the GAGOP. We need each other to win.

First and foremost, I fight Democrats, not Republicans – and WIN. As Republicans, we have an opportunity to make our state party a year-round service organization.

It’s time for the GAGOP to adopt a year-round approach, working continuously during and between election years to maintain a field organization that leverages an intelligent digital infrastructure and stays connected with our County GOPs. By investing in a data-driven field program that is anchored in doors and calls and supported by targeted texts, direct mail, and digital ads, we can “Get-Out-The-Vote” earlier empowering our grassroots, increasing voter engagement and most importantly electing winning candidates.

I will build on my success as the Chairman of the DeKalb County Republican Party where we doubled Republican turn out in the mid-term primary (From 2018 to 2022) and increased the margins of victory by tens of thousands of votes in the general – which directly contributed to the reelection or election of Governor Kemp and all of our Republican Constitutional Officers. For the first time in decades in the second bluest county, we made Democrats work harder where Republicans worked smarter. We put 25 candidates on the ballot in the primary and then 17 in general. We invested in many of them and took the financial burden off the table by paying for their qualifying fee –with the caveat of running unopposed in the primary. This allowed our candidates to go head-to head with a Democrat in the General.

I’m a person who gets things done- I’m someone who says something, does something and over delivers. And I will do that by working with and engaging our membership, our GOP County and Congressional Chairs – our elected leaders and grassroots. By developing resources that will make our party a year-round service organization and one that provides a return on their investment in the Georgia Republican Party. Things that I am already doing today as the DeKalb GOP Chair.