The final days of a campaign can often be compared to a form of no-holds-barred combat that occurs within thousands of mailboxes across the state.
If you live in Georgia and have a Republican voting history, all sorts of full color flyers from all sorts of mysterious organizations are headed your way. And they say all sorts of things.
One mailer in particular is irking certain supporters of GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp. As you can see above, it bears the title of “Trump Supporter Voter Guide,” and notes that Casey Cagle, Kemp’s rival in Tuesday’s Republican runoff, “publicly endorsed” Donald Trump for president in 2016. It also reports that many of Trump’s top supporters in Georgia are working for the Cagle campaign.
All of which is true. But the flyer gently omits the fact that President Trump has endorsed Kemp in the contest, not Cagle. Even though the mailer carries the notation “Official Recommendation” at the bottom. Tsk-tsk.
Several versions of the flyer exist, all pushing voters to Cagle – and to Republican Geoff Duncan, who’s battling David Shafer in the GOP runoff for lieutenant governor. The flyer claims to be an independent expenditure connected to “Georgia Swamp Drainers,” whose Facebook page appears to be dedicated to smearing Shafer. But again, no names.
A single Norcross address appears on the flyer. And if you Google it, this is where the chaos really starts. It is the home of Printing Trade Co., a well-known mailing operation run by Mike and Mark Williams. As of this writing, their business is closed for the weekend – and they probably wouldn’t have revealed the source of funding anyway.
But Google also tells you that the address serves as home to Van Gundy Tactical, described as a “a boutique firearms and accessory dealer.” The owner, BJ Van Gundy, is well known among Republicans – a former county chairman and former vice-chairman of the state party.
Currently, Van Gundy is tearing his hair out in frustration. “I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support Brian Kemp and David Shafer for governor and lieutenant governor,” he told me this afternoon.
Here’s the situation. Mark Williams is a longtime friend of Van Gundy, who operates his online gun business as a sideline. (He’s got a federal license to do so.) But he needed a mailing address, and Williams has allowed him to use his.
Van Gundy said he doesn’t know who’s paying the Williams printing firm to put out the flyer, but it isn’t him. So please stop calling. Van Gundy has, however, decided to change the mailing address of his gun company. “I don’t want anything like that happening again,” he said.
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