After a fierce, grueling nine-week runoff, it appears the Republican ticket has been set (unofficially) and the GOP is hoping a unity rally tonight will help bring the party together.
The event will feature Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who won the Republican nomination for Governor in a resounding victory over Lt. Governor Casey Cagle– along with Gov. Nathan Deal, U.S. Sen. David Perdue, House Speaker David Ralston and other Republican elders. Cagle has said he will be there.
All of the party’s top leaders are asking everyone to “unite to defeat Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.”
Kemp even addressed unity in his victory speech Tuesday night. “To my friend Casey Cagle, thank you for your service to our state. For fifteen months, we duked it out. Now, I humbly ask for you and your supporters to join us in the fight against Stacey Abrams and her radical backers.
Kemp went on to say, “To those who were with us in the beginning or jumped on Team Kemp along the way, I ask for you to dig deep, hunker down, and keep chopping wood. The road ahead is long. In fact, the attacks will begin tonight. At times, our morale will be down but I promise you… We won’t be outworked. We won’t give up. We won’t lose sight of what’s at stake. Join me in this fight and let’s put hardworking Georgians first!”
Many Republicans across the state have said they will be at the rally and will get behind Kemp and the Republican slate. However, as reported in InsiderAdvantage yesterday, at least one Republican leader will not be attending. Senator Renee Unterman (R-45 Buford), who happens to be from the same county that the rally will be in, will not be able to make it. A longtime Cagle ally and one of the co-chairs of Women for Cagle, Unterman has been outspoken in her opposition to Kemp and at times the rhetoric got quite heated.
Asked if she would be going to the rally, she gave a quick “No” and talked about working to unify the state may be more important that uniting the GOP. She is concerned about the level of acrimony between the northern and southern parts of the state, mentioning the secession question that popped up on a ballot in Pierce County – where approximately 25% of voters would prefer the counties south of Macon to form the 51st state.
It is also not clear if Sen. David Shafer will be there. Shafer lost his bid to be the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor to former State Rep. Geoff Duncan by about 1,700 votes — according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. Shafer has not conceded as of Wednesday night.
Attorneys for Shafer are currently looking at the provisional ballots that have been uncounted in this race.
Former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle, who lost to Brad Raffensperger in the runoff for the Republican nominee for Secretary of State, sent an email to his supporters Wednesday stating, “I want to give my sincere congratulations to Brad Raffensperger. He has my full endorsement for Secretary State going in to the general election.”
The rally will be held at the Hilton Atlanta NE, located at 5993 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Peachtree Corners.
