COLUMBUS, Georgia — At the Georgia state GOP convention, the common sentiment was the desire to see former President Donald Trump return to the White House.
However, consensus among attendees did not extend to other issues.
Thousands of delegates filled the Columbus Ironworks on Friday and Saturday, applauding speakers like former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Georgia Lt. Gov Burt Jones, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in their quest to turn Georgia red again.
Yet, according to some participants, the delegates were divided into two factions with differing visions for the GOP.
“This is a battle between the establishment and the grassroots patriots,” said James Abely, a delegate from Glenn County near Savannah. “My argument is: You cannot simultaneously back Gov. [Brian] Kemp (R-GA) and Donald Trump. Because they hate each other.”
Kemp did not attend the convention, and Trump was also absent after attending the 2023 edition. Despite their past conflicts, Kemp and Trump have forged an uneasy truce to help turn Georgia red this fall, but there are evident fractures in their alliance.
Last month, Kemp’s wife, Marty, said she would write in her husband’s name on her ballot, while former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who ran on the same ticket as Kemp in 2018, is supporting President Joe Biden.
“This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” Duncan wrote.
If Duncan has any support within the Georgia GOP, it was not evident at the convention in Columbus.
“I certainly feel like everybody is united behind Trump,” Georgia state GOP Chairman Josh McKoon told the Truth Voices before the event. “We have a united crowd around electing him.”
The convention’s theme was “Victory in Unity,” and speakers emphasized the necessity of unity and expanding the GOP’s base to defeat Biden.
“America’s allies are hurting, and our president and our Democratic senators aren’t standing with them,” Loeffler said during a session focused on black voters. “Yet every blue-haired they/them on campus who gets thrown in jail is immediately bailed out, while our Jan. 6 protesters are locked up year after year after year. This is the two-tiered system of justice.”
Meanwhile, Biden was in Atlanta, just 100 miles away, meeting with black voters before delivering a graduation speech at the all-black, all-male Morehouse College on Sunday morning.
“Georgia is the reason I’m president of the United States,” Biden said at a campaign reception in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. “You’re the reason we were able to defeat the former president, and you’re the reason we’re going to beat him again.”
Back in Columbus, the election of delegates and chairperson to the Republican National Convention featured several contested races, with grassroots figures challenging delegates selected by the nominations committee.
One original delegate, John Garst, withdrew “in the interest of party unity” after being challenged by someone who called him “the former Dominion Voting Systems lobbyist John Garst.”
There were also resolutions criticizing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, reelected less than two years ago, over voting integrity, and a heated debate over using electronic or paper ballots to elect the convention delegates. Electronic voting won out.
Many members of the initial slate of nominees survived their challenges, including Committeeman Jason Thompson, who defeated two challengers. However, Committeewoman Ginger Howard lost her reelection bid in the final race of the day to Amy Kremer, who emphasized her grassroots background in her nominating speech.
“Why is it the grassroots that’s doing all the work while everybody else is at the cocktail parties?” Kremer asked. “If you want the representation to be for the grassroots and for the grassroots to have a choice, then you need to vote for change.”
Change did come, as Kremer narrowly defeated Howard on the final ballot. Whether this will lead to a win for Trump this fall or continue Georgia’s recent trend toward purple remains to be seen.
Greene touched on some of the divisions in Georgia and Washington during her breakfast speech on Saturday morning, suggesting that disagreements can be beneficial.
“I might be known for fighting with Republicans every now and then, and that’s what the state GOP convention is about, right?” she said. “Everybody’s going to kind of brawl it out on the issues that we’re fighting for here in our state. Unfortunately, it has to happen. But I’ve got to tell you guys: Iron sharpens iron. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of arguing in the Republican Party. Because we need to make the Republican Party the America First party.”
