Republicans in Georgia face two crucial Senate runoff elections in January -- but the state's biggest newspaper is reporting that Georgia Republicans are spending much of their time right now fighting amongst themselves.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "a full-blown civil war has erupted at a moment when Republicans can least afford it," sparked in part by President Donald Trump's false claims that the state was "stolen" from him in the 2020 election.
The tensions have reportedly only grown since Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that a hand recount of all the state's ballots had confirmed that President-elect Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump in the Peach State.
Karla Jacobs, a conservative writer who is a critic of the president, told the AJC that the current fight will show which Republicans are serious about governing in a constitutional republic.
"The GOP has got to decide who they want to be going forward," she said. "Are they going to be the party of rude loudmouth culture warriors, or are they going to be the party of sound government? They can’t be both, and they obviously can’t put together a lasting statewide coalition by trying to be both."
Allen Peake, a former GOP state legislator from Macon, tells the AJC that Trump's diehard supporters are simply too intimidating for many Georgia Republicans to defy.
"If you are an elected official, and want a future in politics, you have to fear the wrath of Trump," he said. "And to me, that’s not a healthy scenario."
