The Georgia Legislature's opening might have been dedicated to the Georgia-Alabama championship game, for all the whoops of "Go Dawgs" under the Gold Dome. But the other elephant in the room – mwah – was the 2018 election.
Nowhere was that scene more awkward than the Georgia Senate.
Presiding over the chamber is Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, perhaps the biggest name in the Republican hunt for governor. He was greeted by the sight of state Sen. Michael Williams, a rival who is one of Cagle’s fiercest critics. A third contender, Hunter Hill, would have joined the spectacle if not for resigning to focus on the daily campaign slog.
That’s just the start of the squeamishness. One of the Senate’s leading GOP figures is the brother-in-law of Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a fourth candidate for governor. And the uncle of the fifth top contender, Clay Tippins, is chairman of a key committee.
To that stew, add two other senators seeking higher office: David Shafer for lieutenant governor and Josh McKoon for secretary of state.
Williams’s campaign issued a fundraising plea hours before the session opened alleging that Cagle’s candidacy would “hurt Dawg fans across the state.” And shortly after lawmakers convened, he took the floor of the Senate with a brief speech as Cagle looked on.
“The time for political shenanigans in Georgia has come to an end,” said Williams, a Cumming Republican, who added that he will “leave everything on the table” this session.
He was rewarded with silence – aside from a brief spurt of applause from someone in the room - and no comment from the lieutenant governor. But Cagle’s campaign soon responded in kind.
His campaign manager, Scott Binkley, tweeted a photo of Williams in his Crimson Tide finest and accused him of pretending to be a “Dawg fan for politican gain.”
To which Williams’ campaign manager Seth Weathers responded: “Seen some new polling, huh?”
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