State Sen. Randy Robertson hopes the Georgia Republican Party will continue looking forward after its annual convention in Columbus over the weekend.
“People have to start looking further than the end of their nose,” the Cataula Republican said. “They have to start looking (at) not only what’s going on with the GOP today, but what they want the GOP to be a year from now, five years from now and 10 years from now.”
The main goal of the convention is to elect delegates to serve at the Republican National Convention in July, where former President Donald Trump will likely be the nominee for president.
In Columbus, Republicans elected to the national committee a conservative activist who helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that preceded a mob storming the U.S. Capitol.
Robertson commented on Amy Kremer’s election to the party post.
On Monday, he told the “Politically Georgia” hosts: “I didn’t vote on anyone. I wasn’t a delegate. So, in those environments, I’m a Republican like everybody else.”
But he added: “I think looking at someone for the fact that they obtained a legally available permit for a rally, you know, I really don’t think that is an issue that should disqualify them from running for an office.”
Robertson also emphasized that Kremer did not participate in the insurrection at the Capitol, just the rally beforehand. “I’m a law enforcement officer,” said Robertson, a former Muscogee County deputy, “and I would never ever advocate for violence or for breaking of any law unless it was in self-defense.”
Georgia Republicans have three seats on the party’s national committee. This weekend they voted to keep incumbent Committeeman Jason Thompson as a delegate. Party Chairman Josh McKoon takes the final seat.
Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate
Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate
This year’s Georgia GOP convention did not feature big-name speakers such as Trump, but it is clear that the former president maintains control over the party as he runs again in 2024.
It’s also notable that Gov. Brian Kemp and some of his allies skipped the convention again, highlighting divisions in the party.
“Well, I think anytime there’s a rift in a family and people can’t get beyond it and sit down at the table and have a conversation, I think there’s always going to be unnecessary pressure,” Robertson said.
“But in this particular case like this you know, Gov. Kemp is in the last two years of his last term as governor,” Robertson said. “He can be more picky about where he wants to go.”
In 2026, Kemp will be term-limited. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr are expected to run to fill the seat.
Prominent Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath and DeKalb County Chief Executive Michael Thurmond are also rumored to become candidates.
Robertson outlined his vision for the party’s future, saying, “(In) five or 10 years, what I would like to see is I would like to see a lean, fit GOP party that carries the message of the greats that came before us, such as Ronald Reagan.”
Robertson added, “We have people that struggle throughout this state, and a lot of times when they come to us with their problems, they don’t want to hear the politics of it.
“They want to hear the practicality of it, and they want to hear what their state senator, whether he or she be a Republican or Democrat, can do to help them get out of that ditch.”
Tuesday on ”Politically Georgia”: The hosts provide a live update on primary day with Atlanta Journal-Constitution colleagues Tamar Hallerman and Maya T. Prabhu, as well as WABE’s Sam Gringlas.
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