Rift torn in Georgia GOP by plan to test if candidates are Republican enough

Republican Party organizations in Georgia are trying to impose purity tests to determine which candidates can run on the ballot with an "R" behind their name.

GOP committees in deep-red Chattooga and Pickens counties have adopted so-called "accountability" measures that allow party leaders to determine which candidates for county office are eligible to run as Republicans, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Should we be forced to accept a candidate who claims to be Republican but supports abortion, gun control, big government and high taxes?” said Chattooga County GOP chair Jennifer Tudor. “Deceptive politicians should not be allowed to take advantage of poor, low information voters.”

The hard-right Georgia Republican Assembly, which has attacked Gov. Brian Kemp and other officials who refused to help Donald Trump overturn his 2020 election loss, tried to force a vote at the state GOP convention earlier this year to give the state party's delegates the authority to decide who can run under the party's banner in top races, but that measure failed.

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“I believe in the power of the ballot box," said Debbie Dooley, a former Tea Party leader and Trump loyalist. "I believe that GOP primary voters should decide who they want as their nominee. A small group of activists shouldn’t decide it.”

Some of the most intense opposition to the statewide initiative came from Trump loyalists who feared moderate Republicans might regain control of the party's infrastructure and shut them out, and critics of the county-level measures say they're intended to stifle competition.

“I’m about as conservative as they get,” said Andy Allen, who filed paperwork to challenge Chattoga County commissioner Blake Elsberry hours before the measure was adopted. “This isn’t about that. They’re trying to infringe on voters’ rights. They just want to protect incumbents.”