Georgia Republicans don’t need a rebrand. They need a reckoning.
Georgia Republicans did not simply lose an election. They lost the plot.
On Nov. 3, Democrats swept every statewide contest, and Republicans watched their coalition crack from Atlanta’s suburbs to rural strongholds.
Even as more Georgians voted, Republican candidates received fewer votes than in 2022. That is not a warning light. That is full reckoning on us all, collectively.
Voters are frustrated with the economy and cost of living. Independent voters moved decisively toward Democrats. The party’s national baggage, especially President Donald Trump’s shadow and full presence in Georgia three times — including in Cobb County at a high school where the county had been shifting leftward for years — became a burden in a state where voters want results, not another loyalty test.
Results don’t include an insider-driven, Republican National Convention-led endorsement in a primary; or censuring popular Republican governors; or self-interested legislation like an insurance industry-written bill for tort reform that we were told would bring down rates we failed to do; or telling rural Georgians they know what was best for them and to take the data centers and the Flock cameras.
All these things are why Republicans failed to turn out their own voters and present a coordinated statewide message.
Clean house on and bring in new party leadership
You cannot tell voters Georgia is thriving while they stare at grocery bills, insurance premiums, housing costs and gas prices. You cannot call yourself the party of opportunity if younger families believe opportunity is somewhere else. And you cannot win in the suburbs by treating every disagreement as a declaration of war.
Suburban moms want a semblance of choice for their daughters. Not some octogenarian telling them: “No abortion ever, under any circumstance after six weeks.”
Next comes leadership. And this defeat demands more than a press release. This complete wipeout demands new leadership.
Josh McKoon has said he will not seek another term as state Republican Party chairman. The next Georgia GOP chair should be an outsider to the current state executive committee — not an insider with a new business card, not a faction’s reward and not another familiar face promising the same strategy with a louder microphone.
The new chair needs to be under 45 and should ideally come from the ranks of leadership of the Young Republicans. Nothing against the over 60-year-olds running the party, but growth comes from youth. New ideas come from people who can turn on their computers and do not have to ask the grandchild.
Choose someone who can build winning teams, listen beyond party loyalists, recruit credible candidates and raise money without turning the party into a private club.
Give that chair authority to bring in new people and demand accountability. Give that chair the ability to expunge the crazies. It happens in business, so why shouldn’t it happen in political parties?
Stop the blame game and work on building trust
Then do the unglamorous work: rebuild county organizations, invest in year-round voter outreach, compete for early votes, recruit candidates who understand their communities and talk about kitchen-table problems in plain English.
Respect conservatives who disagree. Stop confusing outrage with a governing agenda. And stop thinking social media is real.
- All county organizations are not the same. Some are better than others. The successful ones should have their leaders teach the noneffective ones new strategies.
- Republicans love clean voter lists and see purging voters as a good policy. Well, let’s purge county organization lists. Purge members who disrupt meetings, who don’t volunteer, who barely donate and, finally, who think our problem is too much diversity.
Georgia Republicans do not need to abandon conservative principles. They need to prove that those principles can improve people’s lives. Do not blame voters, the media or one disappointing candidate. Earn trust again. And you earn trust by being honest and not being mean and harboring evil thoughts about those who disagree with you.
A party that loses every statewide race has received a message. The question is whether Georgia Republicans are ready to listen — or plan to spend two years explaining why this one didn’t count.
The choice is ours.
Shelley Wynter is the host of “The Shelley Wynter Show,” which airs 7-9 p.m. weekdays on 95.5 FM WSB: Atlanta’s News & Talk radio.
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The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.