Click to watch this short highlight video of the event.
Rome, GA — On Saturday GRA members from counties across the 14th Congressional District gathered to hear from candidates who qualified to run as Republicans on the ballot in the March 10th Special Election to replace MTG. Of the 17 qualified Republican candidates in this race, nine candidates participated and spoke at the event, including:
Christian Hurd
Colton Moore
Eric Cunningham
Jared Craig
Jenna Turnipseed
Marty Brown
Star Black
Tom Gray
Clay Fuller
GRA members were given an opportunity to ask questions and to discuss the candidates prior to nominations and voting. In the end, State Senator Colton Moore (R-Dade) received a striking 90% of the vote — well over the 2/3rds required for endorsement — on the first ballot! This showed the remarkable unity among the membership in support of Moore.
We are grateful to all the candidates who took time to participate in the candidate forum. While several GRA members were eager to stand up and nominate Moore, several other candidates (including ones not present at the event) did not get nominated for endorsement during the convention business due to a lack of interest in their candidacy and due to their failing to receive a motion for a second for their nomination.
Unlike many organizations where endorsements are made by the organization’s leadership, GRA endorsements are decided by the GRA members within the district, ensuring our endorsements truly reflect the perspective of grassroots Republicans.
“I believe that the members chose Colton because they believe that he will fight for them as he has proven before as a senator,” said Angela Rubino, leader of the Etowah Republican Assembly chapter — one of the local GRA chapters which organized the Regional Endorsement Convention.
“Our members view him as a legitimate MAGA candidate,” added Christopher Deeb, the Cobb County Republican Assembly chapter Chairman.
Moore previously served under the Gold Dome as a state representative and then as a state senator earning the highest vote score of any state legislator when we compared his voting record to Republican principles such as limited government, free enterprise, the right to bear arms, and the sanctity of life.
“I have followed his voting record since he was a state representative, and he continues to stand with the constitution. America needs more of this!” said Jennifer White, the Chattooga Republican Assembly chapter Chairman. “Colton continues to stand with the people, and GRA members see this and recognize it as strength.”
Colton & his wife Hailey
We are grateful for our local chapters who collaborated to host this fantastic event: the Etowah Republican Assembly (in Floyd County), the NWGRA, the Cobb County Republican Assembly, and the Chattooga RA chapter! A huge shout out to the army of volunteers who worked hard to make the event a success.
Now we encourage all of our members to support Colton in his race for Congress! He has had the most principled voting record of any state legislator for the last several years. Let’s help him take that statesmanship and stand-alone moral courage to the U.S. Congress! If you would like to volunteer, donate, or request a campaign sign for your yard, GRA members can help you. Just reply to this email. Wherever you live in Georgia, youcancontribute to help Colton win election!
Our local GRA chapters in the 14th Congressional District are combining forces to co-host a Regional GRA Candidate Forum & Endorsement Convention! (This includes the Northwest Georgia RA chapter, the Cobb RA chapter, the Etowah RA chapter, and the Chattooga RA chapter.) The event will be held on Saturday, January 17th in Rome, Georgia at the upstairs rental space above the Rome History Center.
This is the first Candidate Forum immediately following candidate qualifying that has been scheduled and which is inviting all of the qualified candidates in the special election to participate! Already, the following candidates have RSVP’d that they are coming (in order of their FEC filing, if applicable): Jeff Criswell, Star Black, Jenna Turnipseed, Marty Brown, Beau Brown, Tom Gray, Colton Moore, Christian Hurd, and Eric Cunningham.
Lunch is included in the price for registration for this event, and the early bird discount ends after Wednesday, January 14th. Anyone can attend the event, but only GRA members will be allowed to vote on the endorsement.
After presentations from the candidates, all GRA members who live in counties that make up the 14th Congressional District will be eligible to vote to endorse one of the Republican candidates. Those counties are:
Catoosa
Chattooga
Cobb
Dade
Floyd
Murray
Paulding
Polk
Walker
Whitfield
You must be an approved GRA member if you want to be eligible to vote in this event, and the volunteers who handle membership vetting need time to process applications, so apply here as soon as possible!
At the recent GRA State Convention, GRA President Nathaniel Darnell presented a list of legislative goals for the up-coming session as well as long-term goals for future of the Republican Party. We heard an instructive panel on Citizen Advocacy from Rhonda Thomas with Truth in Education, Election Integrity guru Jason Frazier, and SEGRA attorney Jerilyn Gibbs.
Voter GA‘s Garland and Tamara Favorito gave a report on the latest good news for Election Integrity Reform.
Finally, we received an excellent update from the attorneys assisting in the litigation for the Catoosa GOP’s “freedom of association” case to protect the “R” primary ballot from fake Republicans.
Now you can watch the video of all the presentations given at that convention, including the following:
GRA President’s ReportPanel on Citizen LobbyingPanel on Catoosa Case
Dalton, GA — In spite of some frustrations delegates experienced at the GA GOP State Convention last Saturday, the grassroots patriot activists who teamed up with the GRA walked away with some landmark accomplishments! Some may not yet even realize the full significance of these accomplishments.
“Based on my 16 years involved in the party,” said GRA Chairman Alex Johnson, “I don’t know if I have ever seen the people as organized to make the state party do anything. Until this year. So, that’s why this is important.” Not only did the grassroots/anti-Establishment/Georgia Republican Assembly (GRA) win overwhelmingly, but it also has put the Georgia GOP on course for renewed relevance!
Not only was the GRA-endorsed State Senator Colton Moore (R-Dade) praised and Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) censured, but also theGA GOP was prohibited Brad Raffensperger from qualifying as a Republican!
Unlike past resolutions of the party, which just state an opinion like “we oppose” or “we support” or “we send a letter,” this was a binding mandate for action by the GA GOP, which requires the GA GOP to enact the will of the party in not qualifying Raffensperger and also requires that the GA GOP fully defend against any lawsuits as a result of it.
GRA Candidate Winners
Furthermore, out of the nine candidates elected at the GA GOP convention to the GA GOP Executive Committee, seven are either GRA members or GRA endorsed! GRA-endorsed candidate James Dvorak from Cherokee County won election as the Over 80K Chairman Friday evening, and GRA-endorsed Laurie McClain from Gwinnett won re-election as the GA GOP Treasurer Saturday afternoon.
Many of the other candidates who won election were also GRA members, including Josh McKoon (GA GOP Chairman), Salleigh Grubbs (1st Vice Chairman), Seanie Zappendorf (2nd Vice Chairman), Suzi Voyles (Secretary), and Jenny Eckman(Assistant Treasurer).
GRA members banded together specifically to block candidates considered Establishment oriented who would be opposed to accountability such as Betsy Kramer and Alice O’Lenick, and the GRA succeeded.
This is a testament to how principled, grassroots citizens can work together to ensure that the GA GOP actually works for the people and accountability, not for politicians.
Things Turn Ugly
Regretfully, parliamentary procedure rules were broken in various ways at the state convention.
The effort to consider voting with paper ballots was thwarted by a series of unjustified misconduct at the convention. There was a large and well-advertised effort to potentially use paper ballots, instead of electronic voting devices, for the party officer elections. This was in part to illustrate the GOP’s commitment to replacing Dominion voting machines with paper ballots for public office elections, and also to demonstrate a method showing how a local precinct might efficiently count paper ballots. To be successful, delegates had to amend the proposed convention rules. To prevent that from happening, the four microphones on the convention floor were blocked by other delegates.
Delegates were outraged when a motion to “call the question” (to vote on approving the proposed convention rules) occurred before there was any debate! It was obvious that the body wanted to debate the subject, since there were 3-4 people waiting in line at each microphone.
It is important that when people spend their time and money to go to a convention and want to persuade people or debate an issue, that they are given the opportunity to do so. Voting to “call the question” without hearing any debate will often lead to disappointed and angry participants, as was the case this past Saturday.
To make things worse, the convention chairman moved forward as if the vote to call the question was the vote on adoption of the rules. This was a glaring mistake on the part of the Chairman, and further frustrated the delegates.
The GRA condemns these flagrant violations of Roberts’s Rules and the absence of neutrality exhibited by those on stage. Our GRA members should not imitate the techniques nor the “end justifies the means” philosophy of the Establishment, no matter how eager they might be for a specific outcome. We look forward to hosting more mock conventions and Robert’s Rules trainings in the future.
Dalton, GA – On Saturday, an overwhelming majority of delegates at the Georgia Republican Party state convention approved a resolution prohibiting Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from being allowed to run in a future Republican primary.
The resolution states:
“It is resolved 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 unless and until a GAGOP Convention removes this restriction; and,
Be it further resolved that the Georgia Republican Party shall fully defend against any future litigation or legal action taken by Brad Raffensperger or others that in any way claims that the Georgia Republican Party is or can be required to allow Brad Raffensperger to run for public office as a Republican.”
This comes after the Secretary of State has repeatedly opposed and obstructed Republican efforts to establish secure and transparent elections. In addition to the well known Curling v. Raffenspergercase which exposed and uncovered massive vulnerabilities in Georgia’s elections, the Dekalb GOP filed a lawsuit against Brad Raffensperger in regard to the encryption keys which were stored in the database in plain text. When this password became public knowledge election integrity activists made t-shirts featuring the password in order to expose the absurd vulnerability of the Dominion voting systems.
“The system is obviously not secure if the system admin password is so readily available,” said Field Searcy leader of Georgians for Truth and GRA Board member.
Some would go so far as to say that the Secretary of State’s actions do not represent incompetence, but rather malfeasance of office. Either way, it is clear Raffensperger did not meet the minimum standard the Republican Party expects from a Republican elected official.
Long Awaited Victory
Back in 2021, at the state convention in Jekyl Island, (the year Brad Raffensperger had been denied election as a Republican delegate in his own precinct) Alex Johnson (then GRA President) proposed a resolution censoring and blocking Brad Raffensperger. The idea was debated on the convention floor where the establishment along with chairman, Randy Evans argued that such an action was not legal, would lead to an expensive lawsuit, and the effort was ultimately not successful.
“After 16 years of Republican Party conventions, this was the most meaningful one in party history,” said Alex Johnson GRA Chairman and President of the NFRA.
While most resolutions merely express the views of the party and educate the public on issues, they usually have no teeth. This resolution was unique in that it gives direction to the party leadership and requires them to abide by it, and even take action to defend the decision from legal challenges. It is important to remember that political parties control ballot access for their primary. The Republican primary ballot doesn’t belong to the government or to the general public, it belongs to the Republican party.
The negative reputation of Georgia’s Secretary of State is well known, and Trump supporting patriots across the country recognize the name Brad Raffensperger due to the nationwide attention Georgia received as a result of the 2020 and 2021 elections.
Raffensperger has been known to threaten local county elections superintendent’s and boards if they feel inclined to change their system to comply with certain election laws.
“Georgia counties don’t follow the election laws because of Raffensperger and his staff,” said Field Searcy.
In Dekalb County, Michelle Long Spears, a Democrat candidate for Commissioner and was shocked to see the election results that showed she received zero votes in her own precinct. She knew she voted for herself, and believed her husband also voted for her. When this concern about the accuracy of the Dekalb election was raised, and election integrity advocates called for a hand recount, the Secretary of State’s office opposed them. They conducted a hand recount anyway, and it completely altered the winner in the race! After the hand recount, instead of being in 3rd place Spears came in first. Advocates of election integrity have not forgotten that Brad Raffensperger attempted to block them from conducting that hand recount.
GA GOP Responsive to Republican Voters
The results of the non-binding ballot questions on the 2024 Republican primary ballot voters made it clear that election integrity is a major concern for Republican voters. 64% of Republican primary voters wanted hand marked paper ballots, and 80% wanted clean voter rolls requiring registered voters to renew their registration every four years. The Georgia Republican Party delegates responded.
This Resolution was a last resort after Republican activists have tried every possible way to express their concerns and work with the SOS to establish secure, transparent elections, and have received intense opposition instead of assistance.
The delegates on Saturday collectively said “enough is enough” and cut all ties with Georgia’s current Secretary of State. Raffensperger remains free to run for office as a Democrat or an Independent or join a third party, if they will have him. They concluded that we need to protect the reputation of the Georgia Republican party from an elected official who doesn’t share our commitment to election integrity.
There were 1,713 Republican delegates in attendance Saturday not counting the alternates and guests observing in the back. The Raffensperger resolution was one of several included in a package that was submitted to the body by the resolutions committee under the leadership of Suzi Voyles and with strong support from state Rep. Noel Kahaian.
Getting the party to implement a minimum standard, requiring candidates to share a minimum level of adherence to the GOP platform has been a goal of the GRA for several years. Delegates visiting the GRA vendor table at the convention were eager to sign the GRA petition to block Raffensperger, who is arguably the most distrusted Republican politician in the state.
GRA members and supporters are excited about this massive victory and believe the GAGOP will be stronger and better able to engage and recruit new party members as a result of this action protecting the GOP brand.
This is an example of the GAGOP exercising their constitutional right to the freedom of association.
“The government cannot force a Baptist church to ordain a Hindu or a Muslim as their minister,” said Nathaniel Darnell, GRA President, “and they can’t force the Republican Party to associate with Brad Raffensperger when he relentlessly acts contrary to Republican beliefs and objectives.”
This resolution has the same effect as the Accountability Rule the GRA proposed at the 2023 GOP Convention, and the same effect as the actions taken by the Catoosa GOP in 2024.
While some argue that anyone and everyone should be allowed to claim the label “Republican” regardless of what they believe or how they act, we believe the Republican primary should be reserved for only those candidates who embrace at least a minimum number of the Republican principles outlined in our platform.
“This resolution serves as a warning to all Republican elected officials in Georgia who like to utilize the resources and volunteers in the Republican Party, while simultaneously stomping all over our platform and dismissing the legitimate policy concerns of party activists. We are grateful to all the delegates who voted in favor of the resolution and look forward to assisting the party in implementing other accountability measures to protect the Republican brand and protect Georgians who are being harmed by RINO public policy,” said Darnell.
Thanks to your continued effort, we’ve seen a major grassroots victory at the District GAGOP Conventions—and the Establishment is rattled. A lot has gone on since our last message to you, which talked about how people want you to show up at conventions and not know how to participate. But due to your work, the District GAGOP Conventions last month were a great success, with many great grassroots/anti-Establishment people getting elected and re-elected.
We’re proud to report: grassroots is winning. GRA-endorsed district chairmen candidates like Richard Jordan and David Oles just took the helm in key districts.
The GRA membership had our state endorsing convention on May 10, 2025. This convention is very notable because those who choose to attend come from over a thousand principled Republican grassroots activists from around the state.
At GRA, it’s not donors or insiders who decide—it’s the members. If a candidate earns two-thirds of the vote at convention, they get our endorsement. That’s how we stay true to Republican principles—and how we win.
The GRA is truly member-run, meaning that people who agree with basic Republican principles and accountability for politicians (1) Join; (2) Come to our conventions to endorse the truly grassroots and principled candidate that aligns with those principles; (3) If they receive a 2/3 vote, they are endorsed and the GRA membership rallies to get them elected.
This is in contrast to just about every other political group or endorsement, where the endorsement is just the product of either (1) One person’s opinion; or (2) Paid for by donors to the “group”. At our conventions, every member gets to vote, and all members’ votes count equally. GRA members have the power, and that terrifies the Establishment hacks who count on personal friendships and connections to outweigh good policies and principles. If you’re in doubt about who to vote for, vote for the GRA endorsed candidates.
The GRA membership chose not to endorse in several key races, reserving our support only for those who meet the highest grassroots standards. These positions shape the direction of the Georgia GOP. If we lose them to Establishment control, we risk more candidates like Geoff Duncan slipping through the cracks.
• Joanna Hildreth (Under 80k Caucus Chair: ask your county chair to vote for her!) • James Dvorak (Over 80k Caucus Chair: ask your county chair to vote for him!) • Norine Cantor (2nd Vice Chair) • Laurie McClain (Treasurer) • Kylie Kremer (Assistant Secretary)
I’d like to especially add a few comments regarding Joanna Hildreth, since the vote on her endorsement was unanimous, and you may recognize her name.
Joanna is the Catoosa County Republican Party Chairman, and if you look back at these past messages (and this one), is the head of the county party that actively is working to keep the government from forcing us (as Republicans) from having to put people on the Republican primary ballot who endorse Democrats and vote to raise taxes and restrict property rights. And she started this fight prior to the GAGOP, this year, voting to keep Geoff Duncan (former Lt. Governor who backed Kamala Harris) from ever being on a Georgia Republican primary ballot.
While only the chairmen of the Under 80k counties vote in this race, I urge you to immediately contact your county chairman and let them know you hope they support Joanna Hildreth as Under 80k Chair and you want the party to fight against attempts to destroy our brand, which will hurt our ability to win in 2026.
Stand with the grassroots. Stand for principles. Stand for accountability.
Canton, GA — Last Saturday, nearly 200 GRA members and guests from every corner of the state gathered at the GRA Endorsement Convention to hear candidates for GA GOP office, vote on endorsements, fellowship, have lunch together, and conduct other business.
The membership was pleased to endorse five candidates for statewide GOP office: Joanna Hildreth, James Dvorak, Norine Cantor, Laurie McClain,and Kylie Kremer.
GRA 1st Vice President Brant Frost V reported that this was the best attendedEndorsement Convention in the history of the GRA. Some people arrived late in the afternoon, but at the time of the final Credentials Committee report, we had 188 people in attendance, including 136 voting GRA members and 52 guests.
The Georgia Republican Assembly is a grassroots, member-led organization dedicated to promoting bold constitutional conservatism, integrity, and accountability within the Republican Party. At our State Endorsement Convention, members from across Georgia convened in a vibrant and successful assembly to advance our shared principles by endorsing candidates who represent our values.
The endorsed candidates each received a 2/3rds majority vote, thereby ensuring a strong consensus behind the endorsement. The races for Second Vice Chair and Assistant Secretary both went into run-off ballots, which the body voted to allow in the convention rules.
The Second Vice Chair race contained fourcandidates, three of whom were GRA members, but none of the candidates received 2/3rds on the first ballot for Second Vice Chair. When no candidate in a race received 2/3rds of the vote, GRA members had the opportunity to make a motion for a run-off ballot, where the candidate who received the lowest number of votes would drop off. Like any other motion, this required a majority vote of the convention body each time it was allowed, and the rules required “No endorsement” would be an option on every ballot.
The idea behind this method was to ensure, if a member’s first pick candidate lost, but they still wanted to see the GRA endorse someone in the race, they could make a motion for a run-off ballot and change their vote. This method is usually preferred by members who know there is an Establishment candidate in the race and who want to solidify support behind one of the anti-Establishment options.
Norine Cantor for GA GOP 2nd Vice Chairman
Ultimately, Norine Cantor won the endorsement for 2nd Vice Chair on the third ballot. Kylie Kremer also won the endorsement for Assistant Secretary on the third ballot.
Meanwhile, incumbent Laurie McClain won the GRA endorsement on the first ballot in the race for Treasurer. Over the last term, Laurie has earned confidence through her transparency and professionalism. With close to 40 years of experience as a CPA, her credentials as a fiduciary are impressive.
James Dvorak from Cherokee County also won the 2/3rds endorsement for Over 80K Chairman on the first vote.
Attendees submitted nearly 100 questions for a lengthy Q&A that grappled with many issues of concern to activists around the state. We are grateful to both Josh McKoon and David Cross, the candidates running for GA GOP Chairman, for their participation.
Ultimately, however, no candidate for Chairman won the 2/3rds needed to receive the endorsement. No one made a motion to go into a run-off ballot for the Chairman’s race, probably because the body knew it was unlikely many members would change their vote on a second ballot.
No one won the endorsement either in the 1st Vice Chairman’s race, but attendees did get to hear from two of the three candidates: Salleigh Grubbs from Cobb and Lisa Pierce from Upson.
Attendees were also inspired by a rousing speech from Mallory Staples, Executive Director of the Georgia Freedom Caucus who highlighted the importance of having GOP leadership who is willing to stand up for Republican heroes like Sen. Colton Moore (R-Dade).
We received many thanks from those who attended. Participants praised the convention especially for the paper ballot system used to conduct the endorsement votes and for Alex Johnson who chaired in his customary even-handed and fair manner. It was a great time.
GRA Members Endorse GA GOP Rules Proposals Ahead of GOP Convention
In addition to making endorsements, GRA members took the opportunity to support numerous rules proposals that have been submitted to the GOP for consideration at the June Convention. These proposals include a rule requiring the GAGOP to provide the delegate lists to candidates without requiring the candidates to sign the 9-page NDA with the onerous non-disparagement clause.
This coming Saturday, most of the Congressional District GA GOP organizations will be hosting their district conventions, and if you are a district convention delegate or alternate, it is imperative that you attend and help ensure we get the best patriots possible elected to leadership in the GA GOP at this level for the next two years!
In Woodstock Tuesday night, our North Metro RA chapter (Pickens & Cherokee), our Fulton RA chapter, and our Cobb RA chapter combined to co-host a Regional Candidate Forum & Endorsement Convention for the 7th & 11th Congressional Districts. We heard not only from the District Chair candidates for these races, but also from dozens of down-ballot ones.
As a result, the participating GRA membership voted by a 2/3rds majority to endorse the following Chair candidates:
• For 7th District Chairman: Richard Jordan from Cherokee County
• For 11th District Chairman: David Oles from Pickens County
David Oles speaking at the regional endorsement convention.
David Oles is the incumbent District 11 Chairman, and has been serving as one of three attorneys helping pro bono with the Catoosa GOP lawsuit against the four RINO commission candidates. In addition, he has been leading as an attorney on several premiere election integrity suits.
David has been the first non-Establishment grassroots Chairman that District 11 has had in decades (one of his recent predecessors donated to Democrats while serving as the Republican District Chairman!).
Richard Jordan has been the chapter President for our North Metro RA chapter for the last few years, and has been very pro-active in local Republican politics and election integrity reform efforts. He’s a go-getter with a gift for organization and getting things done!
The convention also endorsed on many (but not all) down-ballot races, which you can see below.
Blue Ridge, GA – On Monday, the Fannin County Republican Party hosted a candidate forum featuring MA-GA candidate for 9th District Chair Brian Parker and his opponent Stephen Aaron, a former employee of Speaker David Ralston. Fannin County activists got to witness a clear difference between the candidates as Brian Parker championed the need for the GOP to provide accountability to fake Republican candidates, and Aaron opposed it (see video timecode 51:10).
“We’ve got to have accountability,” said Brian Parker. “When you got a job, did you have an interview before you got your job? … Did you ever have a review [of your performance on the job]? Would you want to work with somebody who is not pulling their weight, or who is working against the company? No!”
Brian Parker
After the Catoosa GOP adopted the Accountability Rule and implemented an interview for county commissioners, Republicans across Georgia are beginning to realize that the Republican party must start providing some quality control to the candidates they allow on the Republican ballot, ensuring candidates meet a minimum standard, or risk severe damage to the Republican brand and demoralizing voters.
Stephen Aaron, the other candidate for 9th District Chairman, openly opposed the idea of the Republican Party providing accountability to politicians.
“All the accountability rule is is a power grab…No, I am not in favor of the accountability rule!” said Aaron. “Because, as a political party, it is our job to elect Republicans to office – Republicans that go through the primary. The primary is their interview process.”
This image taken from Aaron’s LinkedIn profile shows he was employed by Ralston.
Brian Parker noted how the average voter isn’t paying attention and often makes election decisions based on a name that is familiar to them, or the ethnicity of a candidate or some other superficiality.
Stephen Aaron worked as a campaign manager in 2014 for the late Speaker David Ralston, who was criticized for his corrupt use of legislative continuance to postpone legal cases for his law practice, that resulted in many victims not getting their day in court for several years. He was also criticized for stalling many bills through the years that would have advanced the GOP platform. In 2019, then Representative Colton Moore was one of 10 legislators who signed on to a resolution calling for Ralston to resign for his unethical behavior.
Stephen Aaron going full-blown fan-boy on his Facebook for the late corrupt Speaker David Ralston
“Any GOP officer who has been a cheerleader for legislators with as terrible, unjust, and unprincipled a record as David Ralston’s is the epitome of Establishment!” said GRA President Nathaniel Darnell. “It is no surprise to find out that the people praising corrupt politicians are often on the politicians’ payroll! The paid political industry really has no business holding office in the Republican Party, since they have an inherent monetary conflict of interest when it comes to any accountability measures.”
Last week, on the other hand, Brian Parker spoke at the MA-GA candidate forum where he gave a rousing speech in support of the Republican platform and holding politicians accountable to it. Brian has previously served alongside Ron Hooper, former GRA NFRA Director, on the Fulton Defense Fund raising over $35,000 to support the three GOP electors who were targeted by Fani Willis. Their event ranked 11th in the state for total funds raised in 2023.
“Brian has shown a deep commitment to understanding the inner workings of the GOP, and he’s proven he can handle any challenge,” said Ron Hooper. “His greatest strength is his unwavering dedication to the America First movement and the mission to Make America Great Again. He holds politicians accountable and demands adherence to the Republican Platform.”
Brian has served as the chairman of the Bank’s County Republican Party.
“As the GOP stands at a crossroads, it is clear that bold leadership is essential for the party’s future. We need more individuals like Brian Parker—principled, passionate, and driven—to help restore the Republican brand and move us forward,” said Ron Hooper.”
Last Saturday, the 5th District GA GOP organization held its District Convention a week early ahead of the other districts. A local DeKalb RA chapter made endorsements for that event in advance, and they were mostly successful.
Catherine Bernard
Anita Lane Favors was the GRA-endorsed candidate for the 5th District Chair position, and she successfully won the seat! Attorney Catherine Bernard was one of the GRA-endorsed candidates for State Committee, and she was successfully re-elected as well. Catherine also serves as our Senior GRA NFRA Director. Non-establishment candidate Rich Clarke from DeKalb also won election to the state committee.
Regretfully, Establishment candidate Travis Bowden also won re-election to the state committee when the convention had the candidates run not for specific slots. Instead, the state committee seats were awarded to the top three candidates who received the most votes. Catherine received the most votes at the convention (only one delegate voted against her). Travis received the second most votes. Rich received third place. GRA-member Julie Allen from Fulton came in fourth, and so was not elected to the state committee.
Travis Bowden
When delegates were asked how they could vote to elect Travis Bowden while also electing non-Establishment candidates such as Catherine and Rich, multiple participants said that they were simply not familiar with Travis’ reputation and track record, but were impressed with the brief speech he gave at the convention.
Travis has worked in the political industry for years, defended bad politicians, and has often been belligerent to grassroots activists across the state. This is why it is so important for delegates to really know their candidates and not be misled merely by a brief speech at a convention.
Even so, we are grateful to see progress in the heart of the Atlanta area each year! This is a long game, and we are optimistic about what the future holds.
