MAGA Split Roils GOP in Georgia

BY CAMERON MCWHIRTER AND LINDSAY WISE

ROME, Ga.—President Trump visited the heart of conservative Northwest Georgia recently to promote his economic agenda and to boost Clay Fuller, a local district attorney he has endorsed to fill the congressional seat left vacant by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Are you all for Clay?” Trump asked at a stop at the Varsity restaurant, prompting whoops and applause. On his website, Fuller carries a photo of Trump and touts the presidential backing. His slogan: “Faith. Duty. America First.”

Yet outside, some Republican activists stood at a nearby intersection holding signs proclaiming Fuller a sellout. They were supporting another GOP contender, Colton Moore. Moore calls himself “Trump’s #1 Defender” in the district. His slogan: “God. Guns. Trump.”

Melissa Johnson, one of the Moore supporters, said Trump must have been misinformed— her candidate was the true MAGA pick. She still likes Trump, the 48-year-old textile worker said, but doesn’t trust his advisers, Congress or Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

Welcome to the Georgia Republican Party.

Heading into midterms that will determine control of Congress, GOP leaders in Atlanta and Washington had hoped to build party loyalty and unity in Georgia, a red-leaning state that has seen more blue upsets of late.

Instead, they have scenes like the one in Rome—and that is creating heartburn for Republicans who fear a family feud will help Democrats in a crucial election year.

“Am I anxious?” said B.J. Van Gundy, former first vice chairman of the Georgia GOP. “Yes. I hope we have time to fix this.”

MAGA activists, long accustomed to branding many elected Republicans as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), are now turning on one another. Infighting has consumed three key races—governor, Senate and the House seat —spawning lawsuits, ethics complaints and vicious ads. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently seized 2020 ballots from Fulton County, a move some Republicans fear will drag the party back into re-litigating an election voters are tired of hearing about.

The Republican National Committee rejected the idea of turmoil in the state GOP. Trump’s agenda remains popular, “and all eyes are on Georgia as candidates compete for his endorsement because they know it clears the path to victory,” said Emma Hall, an RNC spokeswoman.

In Georgia, some longtime party figures are gloomy.

“The dysfunction has damaged the ability of Republicans to elect candidates,” said Rusty Paul, a former state GOP chairman now serving as mayor of Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb.

The special congressional election on March 10 is a portrait of the divide. The seat opened after one of the most spectacular splits in recent political history: Trump’s fallingout with Greene, once among his most devoted allies. She resigned and told CNN that MAGA “was a big lie.” Trump calls her “Marjorie Traitor Greene.”

Seventeen candidates—12 of them Republican—are competing, including Fuller—Trump’s pick—and Moore, who wasn’t chosen even though he calls Trump “the greatest president of our lifetime.” “I’m pretty confused,” he said.

A Fuller spokesman said Trump endorsed him “because he is the only MAGA candidate in this race.”

Under Georgia’s “jungle” rules for special elections, all candidates, regardless of party, share a single ballot; if no one clears 50%, the top two advance to a runoff.

The anxiety runs deepest in the Senate race. Democrat Jon Ossoff holds the seat, and his campaign entered the year with about $25.5 million in cash—more than all of his potential Republican challengers combined, and with no competitive primary to burn through it.

No clear front-runner has emerged from the three Republicans vying to be the GOP Senate candidate. The field took shape only after Trump and Republican leaders failed to recruit stronger candidates— Kemp among them.

The Center for Politics at the University of Virginia recently shifted the race from “toss up” to “leans Democratic,” noting “the GOP is not guaranteed to produce a very strong challenger.”

Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Ossoff is taking “radical liberal” positions—including supporting Trump’s impeachment. “Georgians will reject him for it in November,” she said.

Democrats are optimistic. “These idiots are making our jobs a lot easier,” said Charlie Bailey, the Democratic state chairman. Last fall, Democrats flipped two seats on the state’s Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. More recently, a Democrat won a statehouse district Trump carried by double digits.