At Gov. Brian Kemp’s urging, lawmakers passed measures to let Georgians carry concealed handguns without a permit, direct how race is taught in k-12 classrooms, pave the way for high school officials to block transgender students from competing in sports and make it easier for parents to object to classroom materials.

“It’s by far the best legislative session I’ve ever been involved in,” said Kemp, who nailed down every one of his priorities, which also included an income tax cut, a roughly $1 billion tax refund and a measure that empowers the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to launch probes into ballot fraud allegations.

Behind the rightward tilt is Kemp’s drive to appeal to conservatives to fend off a Donald Trump-backed challenge from former U.S. Sen. David Perdue. But the push toward culture war issues is also fueled by GOP bids for other offices up and down the May 24 ballot.

“I don’t know how you do much better than that in a conservative primary,” said Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller, a candidate for lieutenant governor who backed failed efforts to create school vouchers and overhaul election rules to bolster his credibility with the base.

“I have a conservative record to run on,” Miller said, “and I intend to run on it.”

Credit: Steve Schaefer / AJC

Credit: Steve Schaefer / AJC

Democrats, forced on the defensive most of the session, sense an opportunity to translate backlash over the push toward the GOP’s right flank into newfound energy at the polls.

State Sen. Jen Jordan, an Atlanta Democrat running for attorney general, said the GOP’s embrace of base-pleasing issues was apparent from the get-go.

“As soon as we gaveled in the first day it was clear that Republicans that were running were going to use the legislative session as some kind of large messaging piece for base voters,” she said. “That’s what we have been fighting against all session.”

And Nabilah Islam, a Democratic activist who is running for an open state Senate seat, cast the conservative legislative agenda to gear up supporters in her Gwinnett-based district. She highlighted several of the more contentious measures at a canvassing event early Saturday.

“Why didn’t we work on expanding Medicaid and making sure that over half a million Georgians are getting the health care that they need?” she said. “We are lacking leadership and it’s definitely energizing Democrats to get to the polls.”

‘Show, not tell’

The end of an election-year legislative session always triggers a mad dash to the primaries, though this cycle seems even more frenzied. Almost every statewide contest on the ballot in May is competitive, and a number of legislative seats are also in the crosshairs.

Many state lawmakers and elected officials, banned from raising campaign cash during the roughly three-month legislative process, quickly organized fundraisers or dialed up donors to refill their coffers. Others held town halls and redoubled their canvassing efforts.

“I like to show, not tell,” state Sen. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat now running for a state House seat, said of her approach. “I can say: ‘Here’s what I’ve been doing. Every single bill that’s come across my desk and every single issue I really thought really hard about every single vote.’ ”

State Republicans are stepping up plans to highlight rising inflation, global supply-chain problems and soaring energy prices. Greater Georgia, the conservative voting organization founded by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, plans voter registration events at gas stations and gun ranges across metro Atlanta.

The economic uncertainty is at the top of Nancy Lepera’s mind.

She owns a small printing business in Dawsonville and supports Kemp and his allies primarily because of the governor’s decision to aggressively reopen Georgia’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conservative fruits of the legislative session, she said, only solidified her support.

“It’s exactly what everybody loves to hear,” she said. “The promises that the other side is preaching is going to end up raising taxes.”

Credit: Ben Gray

Credit: Ben Gray

Not every Republican is embracing such polarizing issues. State Sen. Tyler Harper can afford to focus on broader policies because he’s the only GOP candidate in the race for agriculture commissioner.

“It’s important for the consumers to understand the things we did to help all Georgians,” said Harper, who singled out pay raises for public employees and a new law that temporarily suspends the state gas tax. “These things really resonate.”

Jordan, the AG candidate, said voters also need to hear a vision for the future amid a pandemic that killed tens of thousands of Georgians and the economic turmoil it has wrought.

“We’re going to try to be positive and offer solutions and be forward looking,” she said. “These last two years have been tough. Everybody’s just wanting to just look ahead.”