The question now is what happens next. Some in the bitterly divided party are already wondering how the divisions can be healed quickly enough to maintain Republican dominance in November, or if they can be healed at all.
“When we have primaries, we get our money’s worth,” said Chip Lake, a veteran GOP strategist who is not on the campaign trail this cycle. “I really think that these primaries are, in many ways, an extension of what happened last cycle. And, you know, taking care of each primary, you have to put Humpty Dumpty back together, which is not easy.”
Bringing the party together is no small matter in what has become one of the most competitive states in the country. Trump’s grudge against Georgia officials who refused to overturn the 2020 election results in his favor has already had far-reaching implications: It can be traced to the loss of the two Senate seats to the Republican Party of state in 2021. In November, the state will be home to a competitive gubernatorial race and a Senate race that will prove critical to the GOP’s chances of regaining the Senate.
The former president has endorsed the main challengers to four different incumbent Republican state office holders, including the governor. Brian Kemp, who is one of the main targets of his anger. The lieutenant governor, a Trump critic, declined to run for re-election to focus on efforts to build a post-Trump GOP. His decision not to seek another term created a four-way open primary in which Trump endorsed state Sen. Burt Jones over interim state Senate President Butch Miller.
In the Senate race, Trump has also made his mark. He helped recruit former football star Herschel Walker, alienating another Georgia state official, Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, who was already running.
Many of the campaigns have clashed bitterly over Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election. Former Sen. David Perdue roused a crowd singing “Lock him up” about Kemp at a Trump rally. Acting Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has repeatedly called his challenger, Rep. jody i did, a liar for spreading “stop theft” misinformation. In the race for attorney general, Trump backer John Gordon has promised to open an investigation into the 2020 election and that “we will prosecute the people responsible for this.”
The role of state party chairman David Shafer has also left resentments. While state party chairs typically support incumbents or, at worst, remain neutral, Shafer, a Trump ally, has actively recruited top challengers in some cases. He even backed Perdue’s challenge to the governor.
“I think there’s a widespread concern that Shafer has been…what’s the term I’m looking for? He has not been a neutral participant in this process,” said a member of the Georgia Republican Party involved in one of the state campaigns.
“I know, he was very involved in helping Perdue and has been helping Trumpworld in the gubernatorial race, specifically,” the Republican agent said. “I mean, he has been outspoken against Raffensperger publicly. I know for a fact that he tried to recruit candidates in the race for insurance commissioner.”
Shafer also sent multiple letters to Raffensperger’s office in the wake of the 2020 election asking him to investigate and review mail-in ballots, around the same time Trump was pressuring Raffensperger and other Georgia officials to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Shafer and CEO Brandon Moye did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Second-round prospects further complicate efforts to unite the party. In Georgia, if neither candidate in a race wins at least 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers go to a runoff. That means some races could be postponed until the June 21 runoff, extending the intra-party conflict for another month.
Black, who has been Georgia’s agriculture commissioner since 2011, has said he has no interest in unifying after the primary. He told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that he will not support Walker due to his previous cases of domestic violence.
“If Herschel were to be the nominee, the people who backed him will have to explain why they backed a guy who strangled his wife unconscious and threatened police shootouts. That would be… uncomfortable for them,” said Dan McLagan, director of communications for Black.
McLagan added that the state party has yet to reach out to his campaign about any sort of post-primary unity event, “but that’s the response they’re going to get.”
The Kemp and Walker teams are among those still on good terms. They are in regular contact and have discussed both candidates appearing together, including a possible unity rally, according to both campaigns. State party officials have also reached out to some campaigns to gauge interest levels in post-primary events.
“I know there have been murmurs of a unity rally with us and whoever wins the governorship and potentially inviting some Republican bigwigs out of state as well. … Herschel would participate and invite people from all parts of the party,” said Mallory Blount, a spokeswoman for Walker, adding that the campaign is currently focused on winning the primary.
Walker invited all of his main opponents to his election night party as a show of a “good faith unity” effort, Blount said. None of them have accepted the invitation.
As leaders in their respective careers, it’s easy for Kemp and Walker to be magnanimous. For many others, there is too much bad blood to begin thinking about rejoining the party.
“I don’t think these Trump-backed candidates will show up at a unity rally, if they lose. and I do not believe [Attorney General] Chris Carr and Brad Raffensperger will appear in something like that, if they lose,” said a person who works with several Republican candidates, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
“I don’t see John Gordon showing up for Chris or Chris showing up for John Gordon, or Hice and Raffensperger. I don’t see Purdue showing up for Kemp,” the person said. “I don’t think this is necessarily a good idea if, visually, the people who lose don’t show up. And I think that’s a clear possibility.”
Kemp, along with Walker, have said they will endorse the entire slate of candidates who win on Tuesday and will participate in a unity event.
“The governor would support the nominees and help the candidacy however he could. However, they wanted him to help,” said Cody Hall, communications director for the Kemp campaign. when asked if Kemp would support Perdue or go to a rally organized by Shafer.
“In 2018, there was an incredibly tough primary on the governor’s side. In 2014, there was a very tough primary in the Senate race, on our side, and each and every time Republicans have come together after the primary to make sure we elect Republicans in the fall and I don’t think 2022 is going to be different,” Hall said. “Each and every time we have come together to make sure we keep Georgia red.”
Perdue has gone so far as to say that he will also support Kemp if he loses, because his number one priority is defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
For now, Georgia Republicans take solace in the final gubernatorial primary in 2018, a hotly contested issue that was settled in a runoff between Kemp and the then-lieutenant. Governor Casey Cagle. Despite hurt feelings, the two met for a unity event just two days after the runoff. Kemp went on to defeat Abrams in November with the match behind him.
While the Republican candidates this time around don’t have much agreement on what unity will look like after the primary, they do agree it won’t happen that quickly, if at all.
“You had Casey Cagle show up at that rally two days after the runoff and he was kind and he did all the right things and just got them on the right track,” said Brian Robinson, a Republican consultant who is aligned with several Georgia. campaigns this cycle. “I don’t know how much appetite there will be for that this cycle.”
Reference-www.politico.com