The chairman of the Georgia GOP has joined other Republicans in demanding that the embattled first vice-chair of the state party resign after a judge found he violated state laws when he voted nine times while serving probation for a felony check forgery sentence.
State GOP chair Josh McKoon told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday that he asked Brian Pritchard to resign Tuesday night during a meeting of the state executive committee because he was distracting from the party’s goal of flipping Georgia back to the GOP column in this year’s presidential election.
Pritchard has refused to step down from the post, telling the AJC the demands that he resign were “sensationalized” after an administrative law judge ruled last week he must pay a $5,000 fine and face a reprimand. He also said activists knew of his legal troubles when he was elected last year.
McKoon, however, noted that he ran on two campaign commitments – to help elect a Republican nominee for president and end what he described as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ “witch hunt” election-interference trial.
“The judicial finding that our First Vice Chairman registered to vote illegally and voted illegally nine times makes it harder to accomplish both of these goals,” said McKoon.
“His resignation will allow us to focus all of our time, attention and resources on electing President Trump and ending the evil Willis prosecution.”
McKoon joins a growing list of Republicans pressuring Pritchard to quit the post, a group that also includes U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Donald Trump loyalists.
Pritchard told the AJC he offered “full transparency” about his past and briefed statewide party leaders shortly after he won the post in June 2023.
“I haven’t broken the rules, I didn’t mislead the leadership,” said Pritchard, a conservative online radio host.
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
The judge’s findings have fueled calls of hypocrisy targeting Pritchard and other Donald Trump loyalists who promoted election fraud conspiracy theories about the 2020 election despite recounts, court cases and investigations that have consistently debunked their claims.
The violations have fueled a fresh rift within the state GOP, which is already struggling with tension between Trump’s supporters and the more mainstream conservatives who competed for control of the organization.
Gov. Brian Kemp and his key allies have thrown their support behind a political organization outside the Georgia GOP that the second-term Republican launched to boost his reelection campaign and help down-ticket candidates win.
Rather than circle the wagons around Pritchard, leaders of the GOP activist base have revolted against him. The criticism by Greene, one of Trump’s top Georgia loyalists, escalated the pressure.
“Our state party should be the leading voice on securing our elections,” said Greene. “It is unacceptable for our party to have a man in leadership who has repeatedly committed voter fraud himself.”
Democrats, meanwhile, pointed out that a GOP official who repeatedly promoted lies the 2020 election was “stolen” is now himself in legal hot water over his own voting record.
“After three years of Trump crying ‘fraud’ about the 2020 election, a court finally found someone who did commit it,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Party officials can’t unilaterally remove Pritchard if he’s resolved to fight. Under Georgia GOP rules, an officer can be removed only after a hearing scheduled 32 days in advance. A two-thirds majority of the party’s state committee vote would be needed to remove the officer.
Pritchard pleaded guilty in 1996 to forgery and theft charges involving $38,000 worth of checks that he deposited while working on a construction job in Allegheny County, Penn., according to court records.
Pritchard testified in February that he believed his felony sentence ended in 1999, but attorneys for the state showed evidence that his probation had been repeatedly revoked and extended until 2011. Georgia law prohibits felons from voting until they’ve completed their sentences.
Pritchard registered to vote in Georgia in 2008 and cast ballots in nine elections before his probation was over, according to election records presented in court. He said after the hearing that he felt his probation had “ended” and didn’t knowingly violate the law.
In a statement Wednesday, Pritchard said he wouldn’t be “silenced” and was girding for a long fight.
“If they want me out, if my commitment to exposing their corruption threatens them so deeply, then they should buckle up,” he said. “Because I’m just getting started.”
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