Gov. Brian Kemp’s political operation plans to spend $1.5 million to boost Republican legislative candidates in November elections to help vulnerable incumbents and swing district challengers preserve the GOP’s edge in the Georgia Legislature.

The Republican advantage will remain secure in November barring an electoral avalanche, but Democrats aim to cut into the GOP’s 102-78 lead in the House and 33-23 edge in the Senate. But Kemp isn’t taking any chances.

Kemp’s leadership committee is coordinating with the House and Senate Republican caucuses in effort to squeeze Democrats in mostly suburban territories where GOP candidates have recently been in retreat.

The governor has retooled his Georgians First Leadership Committee from a fundraising vehicle that helped him win a second term in 2022 into a political operation that has filled a void left by the Georgia GOP, which is devoting much of its resources to helping underwrite former President Donald Trump’s legal fees.

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The gush of cash is an enormous amount for down-ticket races that rarely attract this level of spending. It will boost four incumbents in tough reelection battles: State Reps. Scott Hilton of Peachtree Corners, Matt Reeves of Sugar Hill, Deborah Silcox of Sandy Springs and Ken Vance of Milledgeville.

It also will target several Democratic incumbents, including state Rep. Jasmine Clark of Gwinnett County and Farooq Mughal of Dacula. Republican Noah Harbuck, who is competing against Democrat Tangie Herring in an open middle Georgia-based seat, will also get support from Kemp’s network.

Those races are considered some of the only competitive contests in Georgia after another Republican-led redrawing of political maps protected most incumbents and left only a handful of swing districts.

A suburban clash

The campaign will finance TV and digital ads, flyers, text message barrages and an aggressive door-knocking initiative modeled after Kemp’s 2022 reelection strategy. The governor, who logged a 63% approval rating in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released this week, is expected to be front-and-center.

“With fresh data and refined tactics, we’ll once again identify and mobilize voters to win key battleground districts across the state,” said Collin Cummings, a key Kemp aide in 2022 who returned to the governor’s campaign after serving as a deputy to Chris Christie’s White House bid.

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Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC

Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC

The governor’s aides hope the blitz counters Democratic attempts to saddle vulnerable Republicans to the 2019 anti-abortion law that is popular with the conservative base but disdained by Democrats and many independents.

“I refuse for my daughter’s generation to be the first with fewer rights than their mothers, and Georgians agree,” said Democratic state Rep. Shea Roberts, who said defeating GOP candidates will send a message to Trump and his “MAGA minions” that Georgia supports abortion rights.

‘Turn out’

The spending in the down-ticket races also could bolster Trump, who has forged a tenuous truce with Kemp as they both work to flip Georgia back to the GOP column after President Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 victory.

“I’m very confident of what I’m doing and our team is doing politically to help our friends in the General Assembly, and making sure that we hold our majorities in Georgia will help the whole ticket by turning out the people that we need to turn out,” the governor said in an interview.

The blitz amplifies pressure on Democratic candidates for legislative office who relied extensively on Stacey Abrams’ political network for much of the last decade. Fair Fight and other left-leaning groups that Abrams’ launched are now rebuilding.

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House Democrats, meanwhile, face internal divisions after the chamber’s leader, state Rep. James Beverly, was accused of sexual harassment. The Macon Democrat has denied those allegations.

Kemp aide Cody Hall said the governor is coordinating with House and Senate leaders to capitalize on Democratic “disarray thanks to infighting, ethics issues and sexual harassment allegations.”

“Georgia Republicans are united, organized and working hard to keep the Peach State red this November,” he said.