Republicans are fond of saying Vice President Kamala Harris’ policies are socialism, but the Georgia GOP is fighting to put an actual Socialist candidate on the ballot in November.
The Republican Party of Georgia this week filed a motion to keep the Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential nominee Claudia De la Cruz and three other independent and third-party candidates on the ballot this November. The move comes in response to challenges by the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic Party against De la Cruz, independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy and Cornel West, and the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that though he “clearly disagrees” with the stances of some of the independent and third-party candidates, it’s about following Georgia law.
“This is how Democrats operate. If they don’t like the law, they just ignore it,” McKoon said. “They try to get activist judges to assist them in that, and that’s wrong. We’re not going to stand for it, and that’s why we intervened in these cases because we want to see Georgia election law held in every instance.”
The Republican motions follow a Monday hearing before Michael Malihi, chief judge of the state administrative court, where lawyers for the Democratic Party argued the candidates improperly filed ballot access petitions, citing technical mistakes such as formatting errors in petitions, arguments that an attorney for De la Cruz disputed.
Estevan Hernandez, a Georgia volunteer for De la Cruz, criticized the challenges and said the Democrats’ use of legal action as a path to victory is “undemocratic.”
“Over 15,000 people signed a petition to get Claudia De la Cruz on the ballot, and now one rich lawyer with the backing of the Democratic Party machine is trying to override it,” Hernandez said.
The challenges are part of a national effort by the Democrats to block independent and third-party candidates from appearing on presidential ballots in other states. Republicans are opposing those moves, too.
The judge said he hopes to have a decision by the end of next week. Malihi’s findings must be provided to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger before the Sept. 17 deadline to mail absentee ballots to Georgians who are overseas or in the military.
Academics are conflicted about who these challenges — whether upheld or dismissed — will benefit.
“Whenever you have third-party candidates, there is a prevailing wisdom about who the third-party candidate hurts or helps, and in every race it’s different,” said Joseph Watson Jr., the Carolyn Caudell Tieger professor of public affairs communications at the University of Georgia.
But Watson said the prevailing wisdom is unclear in this year’s presidential race.
Despite McKoon’s declarations, Watson said Republicans intervened because they believe the independent and third-party candidates will take fewer votes from former President Donald Trump than Harris.
For Democrats, Watson said their opposition is about holding on to votes in a race where every vote may count.
“All of the things we are seeing here now are a direct outgrowth of the reality that this is a competitive race in Georgia,” Watson said.
Challenges filed by the Democratic Party opposing the petitions by West and Stein will be heard by Malihi on Thursday.
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