Great anxiety over Trump in Georgia GOP

Georgia Republicans are increasingly worried than the former President TrumpDonald Trump The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden officials brace for worst despite vaccine data Trump launches ’45th President’s official website’ Judge rules Ohio professor can sue university for not using the student’s preferred pronoun PLUSThe GOP’s continued influence and growing internal divisions within the party could undermine their position in critical races in 2022.

The GOP is preparing to attempt to overthrow Sen. Raphael warnockRaphael WarnockSunday shows: Biden’s border issues, gun control dominate SNL’s Kamala Harris welcomes Ted Cruz for ‘Unity Seder’ senator scolds Georgia governor: ‘He knows better’ MORE (D-Ga.) In next year’s midterm elections while also defending the governor’s mansion.

But several GOP strategists and agents have expressed concerns about Trump’s imminent mid-term intervention – especially his pledge to support a main challenge to the government. Brian kempBrian KempThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden officials brace for the worst despite vaccine data Democrats seize on voting rights; GOP Shouts at Governor of Quarantined Georgia GOP After COVID-19 Exposure READ MORE (R) – could only serve to compound their losses in one of the most diverse and fastest growing battlefield states in the country.

“He’s already done a real number on us,” said a Republican consultant in Georgia, blaming Trump for GOP losses in two Senate ballots in January. “I’m afraid Trump is becoming a distraction. You never want to have to deal with nonsense, and right now we really can’t afford its nonsense.

Republicans have little room for error in 2022. The GOP only needs one Senate seat to regain a majority in the chamber. But they face a tough electoral map that requires them to defend 20 seats against 14 for Democrats, and GOP retirements from battlefields like Pennsylvania and North Carolina are likely to make the mid- mandate even more difficult for them.

Additionally, the Republican Party is still torn over its leadership in the post-Trump political environment, with some party members working to consolidate the former president’s influence over the GOP for years to come and others urging them Republicans to overtake Trump and his brand. ultra-conservative populism.

“I think there are millions of Republicans waking up across the country realizing that Donald Trump’s tone and divisive strategy is not winnable in forward-looking elections,” he said. Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, said earlier this month on “Meet the Press.”

“We need real leadership,” he added. “We need a new direction.”

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that Trump will get involved in next year’s races in Georgia.

Republican agents say Trump is obsessed with the state as he seeks influence in the mid-term of 2022, driven by his own electoral loss in November and his desire for political revenge on Kemp and Secretary of State. State Brad Raffensperger (right), who rejected Trump’s calls last year to overturn the state’s presidential election results.

He has already approved Rep. Jody I didJody Brownlow Hice: Georgia voting overhaul sparks fury from Trump Democrats frustrated with pace of PAC Trump super allies lined up ahead of potentially deadly primaries MORE (R-Ga.), Who’s running to oust Raffensperger, and he’s pledged to support a main challenge at Kemp next year. A Republican source from Georgia said Trump is also eyeing the main potential opponents of Duncan, who has broken with his party’s conservative base on several occasions in recent months.

It’s unclear who Trump might return to the gubernatorial race. Former representative Doug collinsDouglas (Doug) Allen Collins Five big takeaways from Georgia’s new election law Poll: Doug Collins leads Georgia Republicans Georgia Governor Kemp says he would ‘absolutely’ back Trump as 2024 candidate MORE (R-Ga.) Would be posing a major challenge for Kemp, although several Republicans in the state believe he is more likely to mount another campaign for the Senate next year.

Vernon Jones, a former Democratic congressman who moved to the GOP earlier this year, also posed a possible main challenge to Kemp. In a tweet last week, Jones raised the prospect of an election campaign, saying that “if it weren’t for Brian Kemp, Donald Trump would still be president of this United States.”

Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader in the state House of Representatives who came close to defeating Kemp in 2018, is also looming during the 2022 governor’s race in Georgia.

Abrams is seen as a likely Democratic candidate for governor mansion, and Republicans fear any failure to rally their base around a single candidate could cost them control of the top office of the state.

Then there’s the 2022 Senate race, the state’s largest, which Republicans see as crucial to winning back their majority in the Upper House. Trump has publicly called on former NFL player Herschel Walker to mount a bid against Warnock, who beat the former senator. Kelly loefflerKelly LoefflerDemocrats’ overhaul of voting sparks fury Five big takeaways about Georgia’s new electoral law Schumer denounces Georgia’s voting measure: “Ugly and mean!” We will act ‘MORE (R-Ga.) During a hotly contested second round of voting in January.

But other Republicans are eyeing the Senate seat as well, including Collins and Loeffler, who now lead an outside group called Greater Georgia that seeks to replicate voter registration tactics used by Fair Fight, the voting rights group. influential founded by Abrams.

“There are going to be difficult primaries. I don’t think there’s a way around that, ”said a Republican campaign agent who has worked on statewide races in Georgia. “Everyone is going to go after that endorsement from Trump and tear themselves apart to get it.”

Rumblings controversial statewide primaries are reminiscent of the 2020 Senate special election that saw Collins and Loeffler spend months fighting for Trump’s support.

Loeffler finally beat Collins in November before qualifying for a second round against Warnock in January. But many Republicans believe the protracted inter-party struggle – along with Trump’s claims that Georgia’s electoral system was “rigged” – supported Democrats and contributed to the GOP’s double losses in January.

“There were lots of good [opposition research] on Warnock, and it didn’t come out until the second round, ”said a former Senate campaign aide.

“At that point, he looked like the nice guy – the guy who kisses the puppies,” the aide added, referring to a series of Warnock campaign ads last year featuring the Senator alongside ‘a beagle named Alvin.

There are still many variables to be determined in Georgia. Few of the candidates in either party actually announced campaigns. And some Republicans are still skeptical of the influence Trump will have left by the time the midterm elections arrive on November 8, 2022.

There are also questions about the effect a recently signed election law in Georgia will have on state elections next year.

The law – which limits the use of ballot boxes, adds a voter identification requirement for postal voting, and gives lawmakers in Republican states more control over local electoral councils, among others – has drawn widespread criticism from from Democrats and voting rights activists, who see it. as an overt attempt by Republican lawmakers to suppress and deprive voters of their voting rights.

Republicans have defended the new law as necessary to boost confidence in the electoral process after Trump made unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and embezzlement during the 2020 presidential race.

But some Republicans have reservations about the new voting measures, fearing Democrats could use the law to motivate their voters in 2022 and beyond. A GOP strategist noted how Abrams and his allies have taken up voter suppression allegations in recent years to register and attract new voters.

“Stacey Abrams has said for years that Republicans try to stop you from voting. And you know what? These people showed up to vote, ”said the strategist. “Well, now the Democrats have something concrete to show people where they can say, ‘See, we were right.’ “