Georgia GOP’s 'old guard' becoming extinct as MAGA takeover nears completion

Georgia's importance as a make-or-break swing state has continued to increase in recent years, and its complex political landscape is evident in the fact that it has a conservative two-term Republican governor, Brian Kemp, but two Democratic U.S. senators (the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection this year). Although not a full-fledged Never Trumper, Kemp isn't ultra-MAGA either. Georgia is seeing an ongoing battle within conservatism, but according to Politico reporters Erin Doherty and Alec Hernandez, the "MAGA takeover of the Georgia GOP is nearly complete."

MAGA Republicans deeply resent traditional conservative Kemp for certifying Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in the 2020 election, and Doherty and Hernandez emphasize that old-school non-MAGA Republicans are in trouble in the "key swing state."

"The old-guard of the Republican Party in Georgia has fallen after withstanding MAGA's furor since 2020, replaced by a new breed of candidates — up and down the ballot — closely aligned with President Donald Trump," Doherty and Hernandez report in Politico. "On Tuesday, the Trump allies marched on: Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones clinched a spot in the gubernatorial runoff on Tuesday alongside billionaire Rick Jackson, who told supporters he'd govern like the president 'with a southern tone.' In the GOP Senate primary, Rep. Mike Collins, a staunch MAGA ally, advanced to a runoff. And House candidates Jim Kingston, Houston Gaines and Clay Fuller won their races by wide margins, boosted by the president’s endorsement."

The Politico reporters add, "Meanwhile, longtime Trump antagonists — especially those who denied the 2020 election was 'stolen' — lost their primary battles: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr and Gabriel Sterling, a former top Raffensperger aide.

Raffensperger, like Kemp, angered MAGA Republicans when he accepted Biden as the legitimate winner in 2020. And GOP strategist Chip Lake told Politico that Raffensperger and similar conservatives are "relics of the past" in today's Georgia GOP.

Doherty and Hernandez note, "Now, some GOP strategists increasingly view aligning with Trump not just as an ideological litmus test, but as a practical necessity — especially as Trump's political operation sits on roughly $300 million in campaign funds."

A Georgia-based Republican strategist, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, "It is good for the state of Georgia to choose these MAGA-aligned candidates in that the president has a huge war chest, and that war chest can be utilized for candidates that he likes."

Lake emphasized that the MAGA takeover of the Georgia GOP reflects Trump's influence nationwide."

Lake told Politico, "The party has completely changed in 50 states. It looks nothing like it did a decade ago, and it looks absolutely nothing like it did 15 years ago. We're a party that's a lot different, that's got a sharper focus, that's willing to fight more."

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