You could say Common Cause of Georgia is doubling down. The nonprofit was accused last month of purging itself of conservative-leaning members. Now the government watchdog group has tapped a prominent ex-Republican to lead its board.
The new chairman is Clint Murphy, a long-time but former GOP operative from Savannah who worked as Karen Handel's political director in 2010 and was a deputy campaign manager for John McCain's 2008 bid.
He very publicly bolted the Republican Party in 2010 and has since become one of the GOP's most outspoken critics, particularly on the issues of ethics and the Affordable Care Act.
Murphy's new role was made possible after about one-third of the board was pushed out last month. The organization formally removed former chairman Bob Irvin, a Republican, and incoming chairman Terry Taylor, a Democrat, from its board. Two other board members -- a GOPer and an independent -- stepped down in protest.
Murphy is joined by another new board member, Timothy Kuhner, a Georgia State University law professor who says the group "shines light in all the right places."
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Five months into his new job, Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue finally has a real office.
His staff moved last week into 383 Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. It's the oldest of the Senate office buildings and not as sought after as newer office spaces, but Georgians have long inhabited the building named for one of their own, Sen. Richard Russell, so it was the spot Perdue wanted.
His new digs are one floor below Saxby Chambliss' former home and two floors above delegation mate Sen. Johnny Isakson.
In Atlanta, Perdue's headquarters will be at 191 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 3250, in the heart of downtown. In this case, he's created a little space between Georgia's senators. Chambliss' former outpost was above the Georgian Club and a stone's throw from Isakson's office on Cumberland Boulevard. Both were across the river, in Cobb County.
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The Georgia Democratic party has released its selection process for its 120 national convention delegates and alternates, pending approval by the national organization. You can download the whole thing here.
The state's March 1, 2016, primary will determine how most delegates are allocated by presidential candidate. Here's what would follow afterwards:
Georgia is allocated 120 delegates, eight of whom will be alternates. Sixty-four district level delegates will be elected within the delegates' congressional district on April 16, 2016. There are no district level alternates. Thirteen Party Leaders and Elected Officials (or PLEOs) will be elected by the 64 district level delegates on May 14, 2016 at a central location in the state. On June 11, 2016, 21 at-large delegates and eight alternates will be elected by a quorum of the State Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia.
It's actually even more complicated than that. Georgia Democrats are committed to gender parity, so here how it will go at the first round of congressional voting:
The candidate receiving the highest number of votes wins, followed by the candidate of the opposite gender receiving the second most votes, and so on until all delegate positions are filled, assuming that gender equality is achieved.
An affirmative action plan, targeting African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders is also at play, but in a less structured format.
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During Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's brief swing through Atlanta on Monday, he sat down with AJC columnist Kyle Wingfield. Here's how Walker seeks to distinguish himself from the other Republicans running for president:
"There's another group of candidates, or would-be candidates," he continued, "who are governors or former governors, who have been good winners, who have won elections, re-elections, but they haven't taken on any really big fights. I think what makes us unique, if we get in, is we've done both."
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