Georgia Democrats state convention will double down on a losing agenda
On Saturday, Georgia Democrats gather in Savannah to chart their party’s future. But instead of offering Georgians a new direction, they’re putting the same leaders and the same policies that voters have already rejected front and center.
By featuring U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Democratic candidates for the General Assembly, the party is making a clear statement: They believe their current agenda deserves another chance.
Unfortunately for them, because of the record of those at the top of their ticket, that remains a difficult case to make.
Georgia families are grappling with higher prices and rising everyday expenses. Parents want better schools. Neighborhoods want safer streets. Small businesses want certainty. Yet instead of presenting fresh solutions, Democrats are returning to the same agenda that left Atlanta burning — literally.
Atlanta under Bottoms endured unrest
Keisha Lance Bottoms’ tenure as mayor remains a defining chapter for many Georgians. They remember a city consumed by unrest, businesses struggling to survive, rising violent crime and the heartbreaking murder of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner. They also remember COVID-era restrictions that shuttered businesses and prevented families from gathering with loved ones during some of life’s most difficult moments.
Those images became lasting reminders of what happens when leadership fails to prioritize public safety. Georgians deserve leaders who stand with law enforcement, restore order and keep families safe, not leaders who make excuses or decide not to run for reelection and leave communities suffering when they need help the most.
While Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms are teaming up asking Georgians to hand their party power so they can continue pushing their agenda of higher costs, soft-on-crime policies, and divisive social priorities, Georgia Republicans have consistently brought real results to Georgians.
Under Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and the Republican-led General Assembly, Republican leadership has focused on growing Georgia’s economy, cutting taxes, creating jobs, strengthening election integrity, supporting law enforcement, investing in our schools and protecting parents’ role in their children’s education.
Georgia has remained the nation’s top state for business while returning billions of dollars to taxpayers through income tax cuts and rebates.
Republicans are building on conservative leadership
While Republican candidates Rick Jackson (for governor), U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (for U.S. Senate), and others remain focused on these tangible results for Georgians, the Democratic Convention focuses on emphasizing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, expanding discussions surrounding gender identity in schools, and advancing out-of-touch environmental policies under the banner of “Greening Georgia.”
The choice before Georgia voters this November is clear.
One party is gathering to celebrate the leaders and policies many Georgians rightly associate with unrest, rising crime and misplaced priorities.
The other is focused on building on Georgia’s success through conservative leadership that puts families, jobs, public safety, and opportunity first.
Georgia has become a national leader because Republicans have focused on results instead of political trends. As Democrats meet in Savannah this weekend, they’ll have every opportunity to explain why they believe Georgia should reverse course. Republicans are confident Georgia voters have already seen the difference.
Josh McKoon is chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.
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