Georgia GOP chair brushes off Tuesday’s closer-than-expected runoff

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Test your knowledge with our news quiz.
• Rick Jackson responds to a complaint that he’s a MAGA-come-lately.
• Georgia’s 9th Congressional District race heats up with mailer against Andrew Clyde.

Checks and galas

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon introduces Clay Fuller after his victory in Tuesday's runoff election. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia Republicans gathered Thursday night at a ballroom on Georgia Tech’s campus for their big Spring Gala Dinner, a key opportunity to raise money ahead of the May 19 primary.

Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, the former U.S. senator, was the keynote speaker. The event was closed to the press, so we can’t tell you what she said. But the state party posted photos on social media showing a packed room and Loeffler in a fireside chat with Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon.

We spoke to McKoon earlier in the week after Clay Fuller won the runoff in the 14th Congressional District, but with a closer margin than even some of his allies hoped for. McKoon told us that he isn’t reading anything into those results given the November midterms will be a much different ballgame.

“I certainly don’t think that it indicates that there’s going to be a lack of voter enthusiasm when the U.S. Senate is on the line and the governor’s office is on the line and the lieutenant governor’s office is on the line, and everything else that we have in November,” he said.

Georgia Democrats will follow suit on Saturday with the annual Carter-Lewis Dinner. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who is among those considering a run for president in 2028, will be the keynote speaker. U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection this year, and Raphael Warnock will also speak.

Expect Beshear to focus on his origin story: a Democrat who figured out a way to win in a red state. But he’ll also be testing the waters to see how he is received by a crowd in a swing state that would be crucial for any presidential nominee.

And in case you were wondering what type of money you have to spend to attend these types of events, the Republicans’ gala was $250 for a general admission ticket and $1,000 to attend the VIP reception. The sold out Carter-Lewis Dinner costs $300 for a regular seat and $2,500 for the VIP reception.

Friday news quiz

Heavy damage to the dunes on the north side of Tybee Island is causing rapid beach erosion, leading to the closure of public access points. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Good morning! How closely did you follow the news this week? Find out by taking our quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of the newsletter.

Gov. Brian Kemp could call a special session of the state Legislature to address voting concerns. But what other issue could prompt him to call lawmakers back to Atlanta?

• A) An error in the state spending plan means the budget is not balanced, violating the state Constitution.
• B) Lawmakers failed to give MARTA an extension to collect a penny sales tax, which would cause the agency to run out of money.
• C) Lawmakers neglected to approve the money required to finish construction of the new legislative office building across the street from the Capitol.
• D) A Republican-backed property tax bill could be unconstitutional because the bill did not originate in the House, as required by the state Constitution.

Rick Jackson’s Republican campaign for governor got an endorsement this week from which statewide elected official?

• A) Insurance Commissioner John King.
• B) Gov. Brian Kemp.
• C) State School Superintendent Richard Woods.
• D) Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.

Georgia Republicans began this year’s legislative session by promising to eliminate taxes on income and property. What actually happened?

• A) Nothing.
• B) Lawmakers raised taxes slightly to help pay for public transit and housing projects.
• C) Lawmakers agreed to lower, but not eliminate, the income tax rate while limiting increases on property tax assessments.
• D) Lawmakers eliminated income taxes for teachers and first responders only.

The federal government cut funding for Tybee Island’s beach renourishment project. Where will the money go instead?

• A) New Jersey
• B) California
• C) Connecticut
• D) Virginia

Forgive and forget?

Health care executive Rick Jackson gestures to a supporter while qualifying to run for governor at the Georgia state Capitol last month. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Republican billionaire Rick Jackson is still fielding questions about his late embrace of President Donald Trump. This week at a stop in Banks County, he leaned into the explanation that has become a staple of his campaign.

Jackson has framed it as a mistake. But he quickly pivots to his support now, which includes a $1 million donation to Trump’s political operation in December.

That argument has become familiar in Jackson’s stump speech, often paired with a swipe at Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other rivals.

“I can assure that all of our legislators put together — including my opponent — has never given that kind of money,” Jackson said. “There’s nobody that supports him more than I do now.”

But at the stop, conservative provocateur and talk show host Brian Pritchard pressed him further on his past support for figures like Nikki Haley and Jeb Bush who still raise eyebrows in MAGA circles.

Jackson’s response: He put himself in the same bucket as JD Vance and Marco Rubio, both of whom were once Trump skeptics before becoming close allies.

Then came the most revealing line of the exchange.

“I am late to the Trump train, but nobody supports him more than I do now,” Jackson said, adding that he had since met Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “He’s forgiven me for doing this. So, I think if he can forgive me, hopefully you can.”

Endorsement watch

Democratic candidate for governor Jason Esteves was greeted by supporters before he filed paperwork to run for office last month. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Two new endorsements this week:

• Georgia Equality, the Atlanta-based LGBTQ+ organization, is backing Jason Esteves in next month’s Democratic primary for governor. Executive Director Jeff Graham said it chose Esteves from the crowded Democratic field for governor based on “who will use the power of the governor’s office to protect progress and prevent further harm.”
• The Fellowship PAC, the crypto-aligned super PAC that is part of a $100 million industry push, endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Collins has long dabbled in cryptocurrency and disclosed multiple purchases of ethereum last year. Crypto money continues to flow into high-profile Republican contests, with Fellowship positioning itself as a more Trump-aligned alternative to the larger Fairshake network. That could make Collins a key beneficiary of one of the best-funded industry forces in Washington.

Taking Aim

A mailer against U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, recently landed in voters' mailboxes from the Georgia Conservative Alliance. Clyde is facing a contested GOP primary in May. (Courtesy to the AJC)

A new mailer is attacking U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, for his dual role as the 9th District congressman and CEO of Clyde Armory, his gun store and weapons contracting business based in Athens.

“Congressman Clyde appropriates the money, then CEO Clyde collects it,” the mailer says.

The basis of the attack is Clyde’s post as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and CEO of Clyde Armory. The committee dictates federal agencies’ spending. Clyde Armory has federal contracts to sell firearms and accessories to many of those same agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense.

Last year, Clyde also delayed a vote Trump’s “One Big. Beautiful Bill Act” until a provision was added to eliminate a federal tax on gun silencers, which Clyde Armory sells.

“My Democrat colleagues have asked, how did it get in the bill?” Clyde said on the House floor. “Me. I asked.”

House rules and federal law set significant limits on House members contracting with the federal government, but Clyde has stayed on in both jobs.

The congressman is now facing a well-financed GOP primary from former Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon, along with Hall County Commissioner Gregg Poole. But the mailers are from the Georgia Conservative Alliance, a dark-money group created in 2025 that lists GOP strategist Chip Lake as CEO and secretary.

Clyde called the attack “a flat-out lie.”

“Since being elected, my focus has been on representing my constituents, not on my business,” he told the AJC in a statement. “And every time I push to deregulate and restore Second Amendment rights, it actually creates more competition in the firearms industry. So, the reality is, I actually lose money by serving in Washington.”

Ad watch

Steve Gooch in a new ad for his Republican campaign for lieutenant governor. (Steve Gooch for Georgia)

New ads out this week:

• Republican Steve Gooch, a candidate for lieutenant governor, released an ad of him throwing a law book into a woodchipper. “These crazy property taxes are un-American. I’ll tear them to shreds,” he said.
• Republican Bill Cowsert, a candidate for attorney general, is out with two new ads today. In one ad, Cowsert says, “Liberals will pee on your leg and tell you it’s raining.” In the other, he proclaims he won’t “coddle violent criminals — I’ll build an HOV lane straight to prison.” We’re told his campaign is putting $1 million behind them.
• Republican Tricia Pridemore, a candidate for the 11th Congressional District, released a spot that casts her as a blunt-spoken Trump ally determined to “give Washington a dose of plain English.” It’s part of a $250,000-plus paid media push for the seat long held by retiring Rep. Barry Loudermilk.

Listen up

There is no “Politically Georgia” podcast today. We’ll be back on Monday.

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Today in Washington

• Trump will attend a MAGA Inc. fundraising dinner in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• The House returns Tuesday.
• The Senate is back on Monday.

Ranked-choice running

(L-R) Democratic candidates for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Olu Brown, Geoff Duncan, Derrick Jackson and Michael Thurmond participate in an education forum at Morehouse College earlier this month. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

On Thursday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast we asked two political strategists — Republican Stephen Lawson and Democrat Theron Johnson — which candidates they would most like to run against in November.

In the governor’s race, Lawson said former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms would “no question” be the most vulnerable Democrat for Republicans to face in the general election.

“I think her record as the mayor of Atlanta was a complete disaster,” he said.

Alternatively, Lawson predicted Esteves and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond would be pose the biggest threat for Republicans.

On the other side, Johnson said Collins would be the preferred choice for Democrats if they could hand-pick their opponent for Ossoff in November.

“He definitely has shown that he can have some outbursts. He’s got some questionable votes,” he said.

The Republican who Johnson said he would not count out is former football coach Derek Dooley.