Election Archives - The Georgia Republican Assembly

Catoosa GOP Finally Gets Heard In Federal Court

April 18, 2024 by Nathaniel Darnell in Election / Government

Rome, GA — Wednesday, federal Judge Billy Ray heard arguments from the Catoosa GOP that the Catoosa Board of Elections acted unlawfully when they followed state Superior Court Judge Don W. Thompson‘s order to violate the Catoosa GOP’s 1st Amendment protected right to freedom of association by forcing four known RINO candidates onto the Republican primary ballot. These candidates have a record of implementing democrat policies (like raising taxes, prohibiting property rights, etc.) and opposing basic tenants of the Republican Party platform. For the first time, attorneys for the Catoosa GOP were allowed to present their legal arguments in the courtroom since Judge Thompson had precluded any oral arguments on the merits of the Catoosa GOP’s position in his courtroom in Ringgold.

At issue is whether private organizations (such as political parties, businesses, clubs, or churches) have the right to freely associate or disassociate with someone who does not share the standards of that private organization. Recent SCOTUS precedent on that question says political parties do have that right, according to the Catoosa GOP.

Unlike the courtroom in Ringgold, the federal courtroom in Rome hearing this case was not covered in police officers or following unusual measures in an effort to intimidate. Indeed, the federal courtroom did not appear to have a single officer in the room. Federal Judge Ray adopted a very inquisitive posture, asking numerous questions of attorneys, coming at the controversy from many angles, and musing aloud regarding the implications of different legal positions.

Judge Ray mentioned in the proceedings that the threats of jail time and exorbitant $1,000 per hour fines against the Catoosa GOP Executive Committee members that were imposed by Judge Don W. Thompson should, it seemed to him, no longer apply since that was from a civil case and the plaintiffs have already obtained their desired remedy. Time will tell if other judges in on-going proceedings agree with Judge Ray on that point.

“The crux of this case is really questioning the very essence of a political party,” said GRA NFRA Director Abigail Darnell. “If a political party plays nothing more than a superficial administrative role, rubber stamping every candidate with no regard to their beliefs or their record on public policy, then why have a political party at all?”

*Some of the supporters of the Catoosa GOP who came to the Rome courtroom meet for lunch after the federal hearing Wednesday.*

Attorneys Alex Johnson and David Oles (also the 11th Congressional District Chairman) were on hand to represent the Catoosa GOP, and Catoosa County government attorney Christopher Harris represented the Catoosa Board of Elections members. Harris also represents the county commissioners — three of which are also among the four rejected candidates — which, as an employee of the county, paid by those commissioners, appears to be a conflict of interest.

Harris made the argument that the Catoosa GOP procedures for vetting and qualifying candidates were “inconsistent” with the GA GOP state party rules. Attorney Alex Johnson pointed out that there is no “inconsistency” because the GA GOP State Party rules do not address county processes on this point, and certainly do not preclude county party’s vetting and refusing to qualify candidates who don’t demonstrate a track record of faithfulness to Republican Party platform principles. The Catoosa GOP rules, including the new accountability measures and candidate vetting process, were unanimously approved by the delegates at the Catoosa GOP County Convention after the rejected candidates filed their lawsuit.

Harris also argued that such an Accountability Rule was rejected by the GA GOP State Convention last year. When Judge Billy Ray asked attorney Alex Johnson about that event, Johnson pointed out that he was actually the delegate at the convention who had submitted the proposed Accountability Rule last year, and that that proposed Accountability Rule had nothing to do with county party organizations. He also pointed out that the rule was never actually allowed to be voted on at the convention since it was blocked in committee and the convention chairman did not allow the proposal to be brought up from the floor.

Far-left newspaper Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein was in the federal courtroom observing and incorrectly reported yesterday that Johnson’s proposed Accountability Rule would have given the GA GOP the power to reject candidates to state office. In actuality, the GA GOP already possesses the constitutional authority to reject candidates under the freedom of association — and has recently done so for the presidential ballot last year as well as for former K.K.K. clansman David Dukes when he attempted to run for president as a Republican in 1992. The proposed Accountability Rule from last year would have only provided a process for the delegates at a state convention to vote on potentially blocking a state candidate from running for future office as a Republican instead of that authority being seen as exclusively the domain of the GA GOP 28-person Executive Committee or the 180-person State Committee. According to the Call of the GA GOP, the state convention has a capacity this year of 2,641 delegates.

In Star Wars, Chancellor Palpatine violates the freedom of association of the Jedi Council by forcing them to allow Anakin Skywalker to have a seat on the council. Later Palpatine would dissolve the Republic, declaring himself Emperor.

Federal Judge Ray allowed Johnson to chronicle how Judge Don W. Thompson had called an ex parte hearing with little notice to the attorneys on the Tuesday morning the week of candidate qualifying, and did not allow attorneys to present oral arguments on the First Amendment issue of right of association. Johnson delved deeply into the extensive case law from the United States Supreme Court which repeatedly applies that legal right specifically to political parties.

Judge Ray asked Johnson about the interplay between state law specifying the procedure for how candidates are qualified and the U.S. Constitution in the 1st Amendment. Attorneys for the four RINO candidates have argued that the state law does not specify that political parties have any discretion over qualifying candidates who appear and follow the process. Johnson argued that the state law must be seen to be in conformity with the First Amendment and not in conflict with it. If somehow the state law did prohibit freedom of association, Johnson pressed, the 1st Amendment from the U.S. Constitution must have supremacy over state law. “That’s what the Civil Rights movement was all about,” Johnson said.

The Catoosa GOP’s county committee voted unanimously to adopt the procedures in their organization’s rules for vetting and qualifying candidates. The members of that committee are elected every two years by the local activists in Catoosa County, and serve as the representatives of the Republican voters in that county. They are responsible for guarding the interests of the local Republican Party, says the Catoosa GOP, including upholding minimum standards of quality that Republican voters can rely on when they go to vote in the primaries. Approving a candidate for qualifying as a Republican operates as a stamp of approval that voters, who cannot often pay close attention to local government operations, can rely.

Catoosa GOP’s Muzzled Ballot Questions

The hearing on Wednesday also addressed ballot questions the Catoosa GOP had submitted to the Catoosa Board of Elections to be included on the Catoosa Republican Primary ballot. Some of those questions inquired about voters’ awareness of the candidate qualifying controversy, and awareness of public votes of the County Commission and were not an example of defamation. County attorney Harris said that the Secretary of State’s office had told the local BOE to refuse to use the questions because, they argued, they were illegally “electioneering.” However, Harris admitted “in candor to the court” that the Secretary of State’s office called him and said they are no longer claiming the ballot questions are “electioneering” and that the decision rested solely with the Catoosa Elections Board. Judge Ray pointed out through his questions that the statute prohibiting “electioneering” says no “person” shall engage in that activity, and neither a printed ballot nor a voting machine are a legal person under that statute. He also said that the statute relating to qualifying questions from political parties says they “shall” be posted and do not give the Board of Elections much discretion on whether to post questions submitted or not.

“This is yet another atrocious example of bias and discrimination against the Catoosa GOP,” said Abigail Darnell. “If this illegal action is allowed to stand, it will demoralize GOP activists and discourage party participation across the state. I mean, why would I want to give unpaid volunteer hours to an organization just to be strong-armed by the government? Party activists shouldn’t be forced to conform to a government-approved message or government-forced association.”

Time is Ticking

The ballots will soon be finalized for the upcoming primary election in May.

Federal Judge Billy Ray pointed out that he has particular experience in the subject matter of the case since he was formerly a Republican State Senator from northeast Georgia from 1996 to 2002, so he was familiar with candidate qualifying procedures, and he had also formerly been a Gwinnett County GOP officer responsible for qualifying candidates. In 2002, Ray was appointed to the state superior court by out-going Democrat Governor Roy Barnes. Ten years later he was appointed by Republican Governor Nathan Deal to the Georgia Court of Appeals. In 2018, he was appointed by former President Donald Trump to the federal District Court for Northern Georgia.

Judge Ray cautioned at the conclusion of the proceeding that he would not be making any promises on how quickly he would decide on this case. He made it clear he did not want to be rushed, even though he was mindful that the ballots would soon be printed for the Catoosa Republican primary election in May. He also pointed out that even if the four candidates do end up on the ballot, the Catoosa GOP could still pursue monetary damages.

How To Recognize A Good Candidate (and Avoid the RINOs)

April 15, 2024 by Abigail Darnell in Candidates / Election

Not all Republicans are the same. What is the difference between a good Republican and a bad one?

One of the major distinctions between a GRA-endorsed candidate and a run-of-the-mill Republican is how the candidate would determine if a piece of legislation is good or bad.

*(R to L) Former Congressman Paul Broun with his wife and former State Sen. Mike Crane*

The esteemed former Congressman Dr. Paul Broun (GA-10) developed an excellent method of evaluating legislation that could serve as a model for any candidate. It was a simple four question test.

1) Is it Moral?
2) Is it Constitutional?
3) Do We Need it?
4) Can We Afford it?

Dr. Broun required the legislation to pass all four questions to receive his support. Using this grid, he earned the nickname “Dr. No” while serving in Congress because of the minuscule number of bills that passed his four question test and earned his “yes” vote.

Of course, all of these questions presuppose that the legislator has actually read the bill. In the event the legislative leadership places a large bill on your desk in the morning and expects you to vote on it by Noon, the default vote should be “No.”

In addition to Dr. Broun’s four question test, I imagine our founding fathers might ask these questions as well:

Does this legislation conform to the laws of nature?
Is this legislation in harmony with the Law of nature’s God?
Would this bill be just to all of my constituents?

*The T-shirt most of the incumbent “Republicans” are handing out at their fundraisers this time of year. 😉*

By contrast, the establishment RINO candidates have a strikingly different grid for evaluating legislation that goes something like this:

1) Does the Republican Leadership approve of this bill?
2) What would my large donors think about this bill?
3) Would this legislation advance my personal political career?
4) How is the mainstream media likely to characterize this bill?
5) Would I be criticized for supporting this bill?
6) Would I be marginalized by other legislators for supporting this bill?

Another factor to consider as we attend candidate forums this year is the character of the candidate. The Bible provides a divinely inspired list of qualifications for determining whether an elected official is worthy of being entrusted with authority. Exodus 18:21 says:

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:”

Following the Exodus of God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, Moses was tasked with implementing a system of government for adjudicating controversies among the 3 million former slaves of the fledgling nation. It was not a centralized government. It was decentralized. (See this article.) They established rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

This became the requirement for the rulers and judges over the people, at every level:

    ⁃    Able men (competence)
    ⁃    Fear God
    ⁃    Men of Truth
    ⁃    Hating Covetousness

Founding Father Noah Webster, who wrote the first American Dictionary, said:
“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, ‘just men who will rule in the fear of God.’ The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.”
[Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337.]

An inclination of magistrates to greed, corruption, accepting bribes or special interest lobbyists money has been a concern for more than 4,000 years. It crosses party lines and remains one of the major concerns among honest American voters today.

According to Exodus 18:21, one of the qualities you should look for in a civil magistrate is someone who has a righteous indignation and disgust for covetousness. Any candidate who truly hates covetousness is probably not, for example, going to be able to vote in good conscience for the Georgia budget next year without a massive overhaul to remove the corporate welfare handouts to Hollywood companies, among other things.

Similarly, lying politicians must have been a problem 4,000 years ago as well, because “men of truth” is another requirement. A commitment to the truth is vital among those leading in the civil realm. A man of truth keeps his campaign promises. A man of truth doesn’t tell constituents he is pro-life, then tell the feminists he supports abortion, and change his position a dozen times based on the audience present or the latest polling data.

These requirements, and the Law of God, became the foundation for the Hebrew Republic. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of these qualities as essential to the preservation of our constitutional republic. (See this article.)

So, as you attend candidate forums this year and consider which Republicans to support in the primary, try asking the candidates “If you were elected, how would you evaluate legislation?” And judge them by the Exodus 18:21 standard. What are some other questions that you have found useful? Please comment them below.

Election Integrity Activists Maintain Pressure at the State Capitol

November 30, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / events / Government

Atlanta, Georgia—On Wednesday the halls of the Georgia Capitol were filled with nearly fifty patriots rallying for election integrity and government accountability as the legislature convened its first day of the special legislative session. The legislature was convened to take up reapportionment and redistricting of maps for the state, but

*Journalists capture the press conference*

GRA members and allied patriots took the opportunity to hold a press conference for election integrity at the north wing of the Capitol. GRA member Kandiss Taylor opened in prayer and was the first to speak. “We are here today because we finally—after three years of affidavits, and notices, and conversations, and demands, and speeches, and putting pressure on our legislators—we finally get a special session! In fact we were told we could not have a special session for three years but, amazingly, it is constitutional, and it is legal,” Taylor exclaimed, “What a miracle!” Taylor urged legislators to “hold the line” and not forfeit Republican seats to Democrats. “We are not asking for backroom deals,” Taylor said. “We are asking for fair legal redistricting, and fair legal voting.”

Over the last few years, the Georgia Governor was urged to convene a special legislative session to address election woes and to deal with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, but this special session was called exclusively to address reapportionment and redistricting.

The State of Georgia was ordered to redraw the congressional and legislative maps by U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones who wrote “…the Court determines that in certain areas of the State, the political process is not equally open to Black voters.” The “minority” population of Georgia has increased, while the number of white or Caucasian citizens have decreased, according to Census records cited by the court. Judge Jones was appointed by Barrack Obama and has notably opposed protections for pre-born children from abortion in Georgia. The state has filed an appeal of that order.

Other speakers at the press conference included David Cross, Kim Brooks, Dr. Doug Frank, Beth Mercure, Stacey Doran, Field Searcy, Sam Carnline, and Kevin Parker.

*GRA members Holly Kesler, Brittany Brown, Kandiss Taylor, Wayne Canady, & Gary Chaffee*

“We need Governor Kemp and the legislators to come together, and extend the call of the special session” to address election integrity concerns, said Field Searcy, GRA IT Chairman and a leader with Georgians for Truth.

GAGOP 2nd Vice Chairman David Cross referenced the Haldeman report, and gave examples of errors in the counting of ballots, and why we cannot have confidence in the Dominion voting system.

Referencing voter data from 2020 and 2022, Kim Brooks said, “We have found manipulation of inactive voters and infrequent active voters unlawfully receiving credit for voting.” Brooks said she has proof that votes were cast in those elections for dead voters as well.

“Every single fraudulent ballot is depriving one other citizen’s vote—their constitutional right”, Dr. Doug Frank said. “When your state and your legislature and your Secretary of State tell you, ‘you have to use these systems,’” Frank suggested to the audience, “You can tell them ‘pound sand, because you are depriving us of our constitutional right of our ballot.’”

Beth Mercure, a Cherokee County activist pointed out that well-documented concerns about election integrity have been largely ignored by politicians across the state. Mercure urged legislators, “We beg you to fix it now!”

*Delivering a petition to the Governor’s office*

Whitfield County election integrity activist Stacey Doran stated, “Brian Kemp and Brad Rafensburger refuse to do their job.” Georgia officials claimed the 2020 election was secure, yet removed signature verification and allowed remote drop boxes. “It can’t make sense; you can’t make an argument for it,” Doran said of the lack of election security.

Sam Carnline of Georgians for Truth shared that Georgia is in the world spotlight because of state officials’ refusal to fix the election system. He urged the legislature to do “whatever it takes” to return us to hand-marked paper ballots.

Tyranny can be overturned by the Sovereignty of God, Kevin Parker reminded attendees. He referred to the passage in Psalm 7: “his mischief shall return upon his own head.” Parker drew from historical instances of this and warned evildoers that their evil might return to them like a boomerang. “We call upon the supreme court of Heaven to deliver us from evil.” “We ask this legislature and this governor to rid us of unlawful voting systems,” Kevin Parker urged, “and replace it with hand-marked paper ballots, and give us our voting rights back.”

Dr. Doug Frank concluded the press conference by leading attendees in singing a verse of the song My Country Tis of Thee.

After the press conference, many of the patriots spoke directly with legislators about their concerns, others attended the legislative floor sessions.

Senator Colton Moore gave a rousing speech from the floor of the Senate that echoed the concerns of the Patriots at the rally.

“I’ll tell you what: for the last three months I’ve been calling for a special session. The people in northwest Georgia–they’re going to be mighty excited today because we are in a special session! Mr. President, I called for a special session with such intensity that I was booted out of the majority caucus. I am now a free and independent agent sitting in the back. Mr. President, it’s very disgruntling to me that I called for a special session for three months, and then we come to this special session and the proclamation that the governor has given us does nothing to address the concerns that millions of Georgians have in our current state of affairs.” Moore continued, “People in northwest Georgia, they don’t like thieves, and in 2020 people in my district believed the election was stolen, they’re upset that the governor took nineteen days to certify the election results, and if it takes that long, then how can you protest when other people agree that maybe the election was stolen? Mr. President, it’s one thing to have a difference of opinion of whether an election was stolen or not, but we’re in a much darker side of politics now in our state. Because now if you disagree with the political ruling class you can be held political prisoner, and right now we have a former president and eighteen others–even a member of this body–who are facing the rest of their life in prison for questioning an election.”

Click the video to watch Sen. Moore’s speech on the Senate floor in full.

Moore concluded, “Mr. President, if our maps are racist then let’s bring justice to our maps, but let’s also bring justice to a stolen election. Let’s also bring justice to the nineteen individuals who are facing the rest of their life in prison.”

Success at October Georgia Board of Elections Meeting

October 4, 2023 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Government

Atlanta—Yesterday’s state Board of Elections saw another great turnout of patriots present. 30 of them withstood 10 hours of listening in on cases, petitions and comments. The greatest success of the meeting was that all of the charges harassing GRA member Jessie Blankenship were dismissed. Moreover, the harassing criminal charges against North Metro RA President Richard Jordan were also dropped, and now he only has to deal with some pending civil charges. Jordan has his own countersuit against the parties harassing him with a lawsuit for activities during last year’s election. GRA member David Oles served as the attorney representing Mr. Jordan.

For those not familiar with their cases, Jessie Blankenship had offered to drive people in her community to the polls during the election so they could vote, and for this act of generosity a complaint was filed against her. In Richard Jordan’s case, he asked to see a poll manager at the polls to inquire about the security of the “QR” codes on his ballot. After he made this inquiry, the police were called and it was falsely reported that he was making a disturbance. Video of the police approaching Mr. Jordan show that he was disturbing no one, and he asked the officer to leave him alone because the officer was violating his privacy by coming within view of his ballot, which had not yet been submitted to be counted.

Participants learned the people in NGOs are fraudulently registering people (some non-existen fictitious people) to vote.

A petition asking action from the State Board of Elections compiled by GRA IT Chairman Field Searcy, who is the co-founder of GeorgiansforTruth.or g, also contained elements on injury voters have experienced from governing bodies. Many other GRA members signed that petition. Marilyn Marx from Coalition of Good Governance’s submitted a request for hand-marked paper ballots based on confidentiality of the ballot. This proposal was defeated but the Board asked to have a further dialogue with Marilyn and other activists. Board member Matthew Mashburn led a more public friendly meeting than Chairman William Duffy did at the previous meeting.

One of the board members privately told the patriots that the on-going persistence is having an impact on the legislators, and encouraged them to keep it up.

S.O.S.: “Save Our State” from Our S.o.S!

December 15, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Government / Issues

One might be surprised that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is echoing our calls to see the Republican-controlled Georgia General Assembly go back to the drawing board and pass meaningful election integrity reform. Except that Raffensperger wants to run backwards in his recommended policy suggestions.

Specifically, the Secretary of State is urging the state legislature to put an end to runoff elections and instead adopt rank-choice voting. Since many of us are still skeptical that in an election system that he controls Raffensperger genuinely beat Congressman Jody Hice in the Republican Primary without a runoff, we understand why Raffensperger doesn’t like runoffs, but this is not the kind of election reform we had in mind. The Secretary of State also only narrowly won election to his position after a runoff with Democrat John Barrow in 2018.

However, rank-choice voting has demonstrated itself to be a disaster for small-government conservatives pretty much wherever it’s been tried around the country. If the greatest weakness of primaries and general elections is that they prey upon ignorance, ranked choice voting exacerbates that problem.

It’s no coincidence that the most liberal states like California, Hawaii, and New York have pioneered rank choice voting. Former Governor Sarah Palin twice this year lost a Congressional race to a Democrat in Alaska’s rank choice voting system. “Ranked-choice voting is a scam to rig elections,” U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) tweeted. “60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion—which disenfranchises voters—a Democrat ‘won.’”

Instead of passing any kind of rank choice system, the Georgia General Assembly should do what they should have done with the much derided S.B. 202. Namely:

First, they should get rid of all absentee drop boxes. Any persons who come in to submit a ballot prior to Election Day (if allowed at all) should only be able to submit such a ballot for themselves, and should have to show their photo I.D. to elections personnel to prove they are really only voting on their own behalf and that they personally are of a sound mind.

Rather than getting rid of absentee drop boxes, the state legislature under Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan‘s guidance actually increasedthe number of drop boxes—requiring one per county! Only the state of Texas has more counties than Georgia.

Second, they should get rid of the “QR-code” on the Dominion Voting machine ballot printouts. Anything in the digital elections system that could conceivably open up the system for possibly difficult to detect computer alterations should be avoided for obvious reasons. There are many other states that use the Dominion Voting system, but have opted to not use this part of their system. Why should we?

Honestly, we would not be heartbroken if Georgia got rid of the Dominion Voting system altogether. Whatever it was supposed to do to make elections more efficient or trustworthy has clearly failed. It now takes just as long, if not longer, to report outcomes, and now parties on both sides complain about treachery more than ever before.

Third, no county in Georgia should report their numbers from Election Day until all counties have a final tally ready to present simultaneously. This is a simple matter of “keeping” honest election boards honest (yes, we’re talking about you, Fulton & DeKalb).

Fourth, any window for early voting should be shrunk. The policy of Georgia elections should be to maximize the number of people who vote actually on Election Day.

Ideally, we should all vote only on Election Day. That’s why it’s called “Election Day” and not “Election Month.” Both the state and federal government should make Election Day a holiday to encourage all businesses to give their employees the day off to go vote. We should make it normative for people to only vote on Election Day.

Anyone who might be granted an exception to the rule of only voting on Election Day should have the burden of proof on them that they have a special situation that merits such an exception. (Even then, a regular citizen should be allowed to vote no more than a week early.) Serving in the military would be such an exception. Having a mental incapacity would definitely not.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Raffensperger wants large counties to open up more locations for early voting. That suggestion would only encourage more people to vote early rather than on Election Day. This is counterproductive because the whole point of election integrity reform is to increase the trustworthiness of the final reported election outcome, but longer windows for voting only provides cheaters with more opportunities to cheat and ballot harvest.

Seriously, you’d think Raffensperger was being fed these bad ideas from the Democrats themselves.

Even so, this week Secretary of State Raffensperger has been conducting “random” ballot counts around the state in 137 counties to try to demonstrate that the current system can be trusted. Of course, no once suspects that the particular batches of ballots selected for counting were not hand-selected in advance specifically because those particular batches were safe from having any evidence of fraud. One has to wonder if this is little more than an elaborate magic show where the illusionist knows the trick to the art of magic is that “it’s all about misdirection!”

If you want greater election integrity and transparency, let your voice be heard! Contact your State House representatives with their information from this web site, and for the State Senate get their information at this web site. To contact the Secretary of State, go to this web site. If we don’t speak up, if YOU don’t speak up, nothing will change. You can also add your name to the petition below from our endorsed State Senator Colton Moore (R-District 53) to express your opposition to Raffensperger’s proposal for rank-choice voting.

State House Republican Caucus Delivers Surprise Speaker Election Results

November 15, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Candidates / Election / Government / State Legislator

The Georgia State House Republican Caucus came back to Atlanta a little bit smaller Monday morning. Before last week’s election, the Republican Caucus had been 103 members. But at least two seats (maybe three) were projected to have been lost last week, bringing the size down to no more than 101. One of those lost was GRA-endorsed State Representative Philip Singleton (R-Coweta), whom Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) had vengefully and deliberately thrown under the bus by arranging to redistrict him out of his district, apparently because Ralston would rather give more seats to the Democrats than allow a strong conservative to stay in office.

In fact, the House Republican Caucus has been slowly diminishing under Ralston’s leadership for the last six years. In 2020, Republicans lost five seats in the State House. In 2018, Republicans under David Ralston’s leadership lost nine seats. Not since the election of 2016, when President Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, have Republicans in the State House not lost seats in their caucus. That year they gained a modest two seats.

*How the Republican control of the State House under Ralston has diminished over the last three elections.*

During the wave of the T.E.A. Party movement in the first half of the 2010s, Republicans saw steady gains in Georgia and across the country. But as Republicans have failed to live up to the promises of reform made under that movement, Republican voters have become increasingly disillusioned.

97 of the House Republican Caucus members gathered in Atlanta to vote on who they would support to replace Ralston as Speaker of the Georgia State House. Both State Rep. Jon Burns (R-Newington) and Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) claimed they had been promised sufficient support by their fellow Republicans to win the election. But the vote was conducted by secret ballot without any way of knowing if someone would violate their pledge.

When the results were announced, members say it was reported that Jon Burns won the vote. However, both candidates agreed not to announce the final tally.

Rep. Burns has served as the Majority Leader in the State House since 2015, and he was reported to be Ralston’s pick for his replacement. We hope that Rep. Burns will learn from the errors of his predecessor and allow legislation promoting Republican principles and possessing grassroots support to freely reach the House floor for a debate and vote. Continuing to go to war with conservatives in his own party will only lead to political suicide.

The errors of Mr. Ralston that we hope Mr. Burns learns to avoid are voluminous. Yet last week, the sycophants for Big Government Corporate Cronyism at Peach Pundit attacked us for celebrating Ralston stepping down as Speaker of the House, even accusing us of somehow being “jealous” of him for being so “successful.” That was funny.

*Comic of Benedict Arnold,*
*traitor of patriots in the*
*War for Independence*

To set the record straight: We’re as “jealous” of Ralston as George Washington was jealous of Benedict Arnold in the middle of the War for Independence. Ralston’s been the best player on the Democrat team. Think about it. No Democrat in the state legislature has blocked more Republican principle-led legislation over the last thirteen years than Ralston. No Democrat has passed more Big Government expansions than Ralston. No one in the GRA is jealous of Ralston’s success at promoting the Democrat agenda.

Time would fail us to recount all the things Ralston has done over the last decade to antagonize heroes within the Republican Party and block the advancement of Republican principles from our platform. Earlier this year he attacked our endorsed Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly on the House floor, and Greene really has been a heroine for our principles.

For years Speaker Ralston prevented the Constitutional Carry bill from reaching the floor for a vote, and he attacked former Republican State House Rep. Charles Gregory (R-Cobb) and then later Rep. Matt Gurtler (R-Tiger) and Rep. Colton Moore (R-Dade)(now elected to State Senate) for trying to advance that bill. (He recruited Burt Reeves to run against Gregory, and now Reeves’ district has flipped Democrat.) Only this year when Governor Brian Kemp thew his weight behind Constitutional Carry did Ralston finally relent and allow the bill to come forward for a vote.

During the pandemic, Ralston harassed fellow Republicans such as Rep. David Clark (R-Suwanee) to get tested, be contact traced, and wear a mask just to be able to perform the role they were elected to do on the House floor, even when they had no symptoms of any illness—the folly of which measures are only now being fully realized.

Speaker Ralston shoved down our throats legislation that many Republicans and conservatives had great alarms over (e.g., the recent “Mental Health Parity” bill). Meanwhile, he blocked legislation to enact real election integrity reform to prevent cheating, making it hard for those of us who have been volunteering at the polls to be able to catch all the ways Democrats may attempt to cheat in these elections. As a result, it is possible that because of David Ralston’s actions Herschel Walker could have been cheated out of a win in the U.S. Senate race. How can we motivate activists to push for a runoff when so many have doubts about election integrity?

But perhaps the worst of all, although Speaker David Ralston had promised before he was elected Speaker that he would allow one pro-life bill per year, for most of the thirteen years he was Speaker he blocked legislation that would have saved the lives of tens of thousands of preborn babies!

Beyond that, he also twice blocked legislation that would have simply said we don’t have to pay for abortion murder with our tax dollars. For these alone, Ralston has blood on his hands before God. He has made himself an enemy of God, an enemy of the helpless (and God has harsh words in the Bible for those who pervert justice for the helpless), and an obstacle of heroes such as former State Senator Mike Crane (R-Coweta) (now 3rd Congressional District GA GOP Chairman) who bravely brought forward the legislation in 2012 and 2013 that would have permanently ended that tax subsidizing of abortion. (Governor Nathan Deal provided only a temporary solution.)

As Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Ralston’s sickness ought to be a warning to others who act as he does that God is just, and just as the Scriptures tell us that God providentially brought sickness upon King Asa and King Herod of old, God sometimes even today brings sickness upon His enemies to stop them from furthering harm.

And we haven’t even brought up the criminal victims who never got their day in court because of the endless case postponements Ralston was able to get as an attorney for his clients while Speaker. As the AJC reported, “Ralston has tied up cases for clients charged with child molestation, child cruelty, assault, terroristic threats, drunk driving and other crimes.”

In short, David Ralston has been the worst thing in Georgia Republican politics over the last thirteen years. Let the newly elected Speaker Jon Burns take note and not repeat his evils.

Key Wins Vindicate Stalwart Republican Fighters!

November 9, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Campaign / Candidates / Election / Issues

Although several races are still unresolved, true conservatives had some prominent victories to celebrate after last night’s election.

The biggest win was Governor Ron DeSantis‘ sweeping a 59.4% win in Florida over Democrat Charlie Crist. If you watched the gubernatorial debate between DeSantis and Crist, you saw how vicious and numerous Crist’s attacks were against DeSantis on every issue near to the heart of liberals. For example, Crist accused DeSantis of wanting to take away women’s “choice in healthcare” for abortion while simultaneously saying he believed “in science” and thus in keeping the state in lockdown and forcing vaccine mandates and mask mandates. Crist said he unlike DeSantis believed in exposing children to drag queens and indoctrinating children in trans nonsense which encourages them to mutilate their bodies before they can appreciate the long-term impact. Yadayadayada.

But the Democrat’s agenda at war with reality was resoundingly rejected in the person of Ron DeSantis last night. DeSantis is not a Republican afraid of controversy and of advancing the GOP platform principles. He is not afraid to fight the culture war. He won the Hispanic vote, he won Miami Dade County for the first time for the GOP in virtually two decades, and he effectively made Florida no longer a swing state but a solid red state with the trickle-down impact of his candidacy’s coat-tails for other Republican races in the state.

In Georgia, our incumbent Governor Brian Kemp, who hasn’t been as strident as DeSantis, but who was at least courageous enough to also re-open our state at the height of the COVID lockdowns and pass Constitutional Carry, also won a firm victory of 53.4% to 45.8% against radical liberal Stacey Abrams. Sadly, however, Kemp’s win did not help down-ballot races in Georgia the same way DeSantis did in Florida. As a result, Herschel Walker is headed to a runoff with Democrat Raphael Warnock on December 6th.

The GRA saw many wins for our endorsed candidates across the ballot. Among the victories, our endorsed candidate for 14th Congressional District Marjorie Taylor Greene won with 65.88% of the vote, and our endorsed candidate Bruce Thompson won his race for Labor Commissioner with 52.11 percent. In the State House, our endorsed candidates Mitchell Horner (District 3), Charlice Byrd (District 20), Jordan Ridley (District 22), and David Clarke (District 100) had strong wins. Although our endorsed candidate and attorney Catherine Bernard did not win in her race in the liberal heart of DeKalb County, she ran an admirable campaign that forced the Democrats to sweat and spend resources in a district that many other Republicans would write-off.

In the State Senate, our three endorsed candidates won their races, including Colton Moore (District 53). State Senator Burt Jones won election with over 2 million votes as the new Lieutenant Governor, replacing the lousy Geoff Duncan.

These developments, combined with Speaker David Ralston‘s announced resignation as Speaker of the State House, means that the Georgia General Assembly could be moving in a much more conservative direction next year, more friendly to advancing the concerns of the grassroots.

Republican State House Caucus to Vote on Ralston’s Replacement as Speaker on Monday, November 14th

November 8, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Government / Issues

Things move fast when it comes to finding a candidate to replace arguably the most powerful politician in Georgia politics. But he won’t be chosen by registered voters in the general public. The State House Republican Caucus plans to meet to conduct a secret ballot vote on who to elect as the new Speaker of the House in five days on Monday, November 14th. Over the last week, two State House candidates have emerged to promote their candidacy for Speaker of the House.

Word has it Speaker Ralston is favoring State Rep. Jon Burns (District 159) from Newington, which is reason enough for grassroots Republicans to oppose his candidacy for Speaker. We do not want a new Speaker who will run things like Ralston or who will be his puppet and continue to attack and primary fellow conservative Republicans. Besides this, Jon Burns has a legislative vote scorecard of 43%, which is a D rating. Tell your State House Republican Representative: “We do not want to get Burned!”

Another candidate under consideration is State Rep. Barry Fleming (District 121) from Harlem. Fleming’s legislative vote scorecard, however, is only marginally better with a score of “48,” which is still a D.

Fleming’s previous voting record leans serious doubt as to whether or not he will be anywhere near conservative enough for the speakership.

Both of these candidates voted in favor of the terrible original version of Speaker David Ralston’s “Mental Health Parity” legislation last session. Surely the Republican Caucus in the State House can find someone better to succeed David Ralston as Speaker of the House! 🤷‍♂️

We urge you to call your Republican Representative in the Georgia State House and encourage them to vote for a Speaker who will allow legislation promoting issues that will advance the Republican Party platform, to make it to the House floor for a debate and vote. A Speaker who will not try to attack and shoot down his fellow Republicans when they work to advance the GOP principles.

North Metro RA Solidarity Petition Aims to “Ditch Dominion”

August 11, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / Issues

The North Metro RA chapter (Cherokee & Pickens counties) is helping to spearhead an effort to secure 10,000 signatures in seven days (1,500 daily) on a petition demanding that we “Ditch Dominion” in favor of PAPER Ballots!

Time is of the essence! Click here to sign onto the petition!

This effort is joined with the non-partisan Cherokee Citizens for Election Integrity, an organized community action group dedicated to the preservation of Honest, Fair, and Transparent Elections, and hereby demand that our Cherokee County Board of Commissioners “Ditch Dominion” now in favor of Paper Ballots for the November General Elections.

The Sour Grapes of Wrath

June 7, 2022 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election

Some Establishment people are really biting on sour grapes.

Blogger Elliot Pierce posted a hit piece a few days ago that appeared on various online forums and printed local newspapers in the Northwest Georgia community. In it, he complains about some of the GRA’s officers, and GRA-endorsed GA GOP Chairman David Shafer. He decries how some GOP officers, who also happen to be GRA members and GRA officers, worked personally to help certain Republicans in contested primaries win the Republican nomination. While he complains about “bias,” he neglects to mention his own biases and preference for Democrats over conservative Republicans. (See more on that below.)

*Screenshot taken from Pierce’s social media.*

Elliot Pierce published Joanna Hildreth’s conversation about promoting a group of candidates—which is not against GOP rules. However, Mr. Pierce failed to share with readers in the piece his threat to vote for Stacey Abrams, and his efforts to stand against candidates like Marjorie Taylor Greene—who has high support from the voters in her district and the GRA. He was actually even encouraging Democrats to mobilize against the Republican Congresswoman Greene!

*Post from Elliot Pierce on social media*

The Georgia Republican Assembly’s (GRA) primary goal is to live up to its reputation as “the Conscience of the Republican Party.” To do this, we must be involved in selecting and supporting honorable candidates who align with the GRA’s Principles and Goals. Thankfully, contrary to Pierce’s misleading reporting, the GA GOP rules do not prohibit GOP officers from personally supporting candidates in contested primaries.

The “sour grapes” piece in particular complains about our GRA Secretary Joanna Hildreth, who is also the local Catoosa County GOP Chair, and our GRA Assistant Secretary Denise Burns, who is also the 14th Congressional District GOP Chair. Pierce doesn’t like that they worked behind-the-scenes (not using their titles in the GOP) to help stellar candidates such as Colton Moore, Mitchell Horner, and Marjorie Taylor Greene to win their Republican nominations in their races.

In fact, Joanna Hildreth and Denise Burns were already known to be officers of the GRA when they were elected officers of the GOP. While Mr. Pierce has suggested that these GOP officers are biased and lack impartiality, the fact is, we must vet all candidates, sifting their background against our principles and values—selecting the best, most qualified candidates for the good of our Republic.

The GRA is calling on all GOP officials to guard our party from Democrat infiltration. We do not want Democrats in Republican clothing pushing policies that hurt our Georgian families.

Many of the challenges facing Georgians require courageous leaders who are unafraid to stand for issues such as the sanctity of life, election integrity, and the trouble in our schools. One such courageous leader is David Shafer, who was twice the GRA’s endorsed candidate for GA GOP Chairman, and has twice been elected. He has improved the state party, fulfilling his promise to get the party organization out of debt, establish a state party platform and support efforts to improve the problems within Georgia’s election systems. While his call for accountability among some incumbents has been met with pushback, he and other GRA members who serve as officers of the GOP all agree—we must align with our principles—which means holding fellow Republicans accountable for actions that are not in the best interest of Georgians.

There is a high standard among GRA members—and it’s our Republican Principles and Goals. The GRA will continue to do everything within its power to live up to what makes us the Conscience of the Republican Party. It’s what our constituents deserve, value and expect. For more information about GRA, go to: https://georgiara.com/about-us/