In less than 14 days, Republicans across the state will know who ‘their guy’ is for Governor. The runoff election between Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp is the train we’ve all seen coming down the tracks for the last 8 years. And here we are – waiting for the tracks to split to tell us what kind of Governor we’ll have for the next four to eight years.

But one of those trains, though shiny with the prospect of jobs and reversible highway lanes, would place Georgia on a collision course with the most unforgiving, borderline malicious, principle-lacking, self-interested, beholden-to-me ways of Casey Cagle. And that’s truly frightening.

When Cagle was elected for the first time, I was just 8 years old. That was 22 years ago. By every definition of the word, he is a career politician and not the kind that serves his constituents well. His eye has always been on the gubernatorial prize and all of his decisions along the way have been with that in mind. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the proverbial dots. Whether it was serving in the state senate, becoming Lieutenant Governor, campaigning for Governor until his campaign was plagued by scandal leading him to drop out, or to sit in holding until Deal’s tenure was up…Cagle has had one end goal in mind and he’s kept the throttle down while showcasing everything that is wrong with politics. Why? Because he uses elected office to appease special groups, reward donors, and advance himself.

Let’s back up that statement.

The Cagle team was recently emboldened enough to dig into the Senate voting records from 15 years ago to drum up perceived legislative screw ups by his opponent Brian Kemp -a procedural vote as a matter of fact – as if that somehow cancels out his years of blocking CBD oil legislation, restorative gun bills, and limited government initiatives on matters impacting Georgians in all corners of the state.

Why don’t we instead talk about Cagle’s history in the legislature – the years he spent demonstrating he has no comprehension of what government is in place to do. During his tenure as a state senator:

• Cagle was an advocate for perfecting gambling legislation and regulating BINGO, even back in the 2003-04 legislative session
• He lacks an understanding of the role of the legislature in medicine (hint: there isn’t one) when he sponsored SB 29 dictating what physicians must tell their patients while administering care.  And don’t forget about the time he partnered with Sen. Renee Unterman to crack down on elective chiropractic care.
• Cagle carried HB 293 in the Senate and expanded the size and scope of government by creating a new state agency — the State Accounting Office, and helped create the Georgia Driver’s Education Commission.
• His support of Deal’s justice reform is certainly interesting given his sponsorship of SB 205 back in the day which would have suspended the driver’s license of anyone convicted of drinking under the age of 21, even if they weren’t anywhere near a vehicle, and his co-sign onto HB 338 which expanded asset forfeiture on just hunters, when a criminal offense was involved.
• In his ever-glowing limited government ways, Cagle also sponsored a bill to prohibit life insurance companies from denying applications and policies to persons who traveled to Israel.

Isn’t legislation supposed to be targeted to all Georgians instead of just a select few? Time and time again, Cagle has shown he just doesn’t ‘get’ the proper role of government. Worse, what Casey Cagle was ‘for’ ten years ago very well may be what he is ‘against’ these days. Much like his supposed opposition to tax increases until he helped push the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 – or the state’s largest tax increase. We just don’t know.

His attacks on his opponent, the ones alleging debts owed, are somehow supposed to sound worse than his repeated press releases illustrating that he plans to use the Governor’s Office as a mechanism to punish businesses. Just a week ago, Cagle announced on his website that he consulted with state lawyers about how to stop financial institutions from refusing to do business with gun manufacturers. Before that, it was the publicity fiasco of stopping a jet fuel tax credit for Delta when the company halted a discount for members of the National Rifle Association, a discount that was utilized by 13 people nationwide during its existence.

As an unabashed supporter of our gun rights, one who has “a healthy appreciation for the Second Amendment” as some might say, I am equally supportive of the right of an individual or business to refuse to do business with another individual or business – for any reason. Cagle has made it clear that he’ll use his role as Governor to manipulate private industries and entities into doing what he wants.

Cagle’s remedy to the anti-gun businesses is to create a law, even though reasonable conservatives generally don’t see a need for more government intervention and would rather just avoid doing business with anti-gun businesses in the first place. But Cagle’s solution is to force a business to comply with his views. Not the views of Georgians, but his personally and for what fuels the agenda of his agenda. Worst of all, Cagle, referred to the Governor’s Office as a “bully pulpit,” a term we don’t see used much anymore.

The press release I’m referencing in regard to the businesses which refuses to transact with gun manufacturers reads, “Cagle consulted with state lawyers over the weekend about legal remedies, but after learning there are none under current state law, he said he would utilize the bully pulpit of the Governor’s Office and its floor leaders to advance new legislation early in the 2019 legislative session.” Team Cagle said remedies would include 1) preventing state government from doing business with companies that “discriminate” based on their beliefs and review taxpayer funded incentives.

You read that correctly. Cagle’s solution to a business doing something with which he does not agree is to use the entire state as a mechanism to punish and to yank away tax credits and loopholes. If Cagle were the fiscal conservative he claims to be in those televisions commercials and campaign mailers, he would know that adding and subtracting tax credits does little in terms of sustainable fiscal soundness.

In the wake of the released ‘secret recordings’ exposing Cagle as the self-interested politician he is, I can’t say that I was even outraged by his comments that he supported a bill for “f***ing politics, not policy” because that’s the Cagle we’ve all come to know and despise over the last two decades. His response to a recent story alleging he purchased a condo from a lobbyist was simply that it was “for his kids.” It is difficult for him to recognize a moral or ethical dilemma stemming from his actions because all of this is just who he is as an elected official.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, his moral compass is waterlogged from his time spent at the bottom of the cesspool where he’s helped lay the foundation for the political system our state operates on today. He may be a good father, a decent husband, and a superb politician, but he isn’t who we need to lead our state.

A vote for Casey Cagle on July 24 is a vote to perpetuate the ‘system’ that squashes the average Georgian and continually bounces from one special interest to the next, depending on donation or promise. Take Georgia off the market and skip Cagle on the ballot. We deserve better.

AllOnGeorgia has not conducted on-camera interviews with candidates in this race, but I do know all of the candidates personally and have known them all since well before they decided to seek statewide office.

The race itself is an anomaly and somewhat of a popularity contest. The office, which is charges with handling our state’s elections and state licensing, but most people don’t know that unless they’ve had some specific interaction with the office or have read some headline about some goings on. The office has been held by Brian Kemp since 2010, but he will be leaving office as he is running for Governor.

As Republicans, the candidates are – by and large – saying the same thing.They’ve all held various levels of political office before, but none long enough to classify as ‘career politicians.’ Three of the four candidates have served in the Georgia legislature. It is, by far, the most difficult race to distinguish platforms.

David Belle Isle

Attorney, Former Mayor of Alpharetta
Visit his website

David Belle Isle served as a Alpharetta City Councilman before he decided to run for the State Senate in Georgia’s 56th district in 2010. I met him during that election, where he was defeated in a three-way primary and I worked on his mayoral election campaign when he ran successfully in 2011. He served as the Mayor of Alpharetta – my hometown – until April 2018, when he resigned his seat to officially run for Secretary of State. He and his wife, Candice, have a son and a daughter.

ISSUES: His platform, according to his website, focuses on ‘Defeating Voter Fraud and Championing Georgia Jobs.’ He says defeating voter fraud is the number one priority for the office and will require photo IDs be provided with absentee ballots. Additionally, Belle Isle says he’ll implement the Proof of Citizenship Act, which ensures only U.S. citizens vote in elections. For businesses, Belle Isle says he wants Georgia to be the easiest place to start and grow a business. He’s relying on the growth and job creating in the city of Alpharetta during his tenure as a template for the state in terms of a business-friendly environment.

FUNDRAISING: As of the March 31, 2018 filing deadline, Belle Isle had raised $459,715.00 and spent $265,659.14. His campaign donations are, understandably, heavy in the Alpharetta area and from developers in the region. The majority of his donations were over $1,000. His expenditures are mostly campaign consulting, advertising, mailers, and credit card processing fees.

PROS: I know David Belle Isle to be an honest man and I know the decisions he makes are rooted in what he believes. He has been the underdog in an election before (in both the Senate race and the mayoral race) and he prevailed through extremely hard work in the mayoral election with the support of grassroots folks in the community. He knows how to build a network.

CONS: Though he has run for more offices than anyone else in the state, the only record we can look to to learn who he is as an elected official is tailored in Alpharetta. I have concerns with his governance being exclusive to an area of the state that does no resemble most other places in Georgia. Additionally, the City of Alpharetta came under fire in the past 18 months for issues over transparency and whether or not the city was following its own ordinances.

Buzz Brockway

State Representative (Gwinnett) & Small business owner
Visit his website

Buzz was active in his local Republican Party for years before he ran for office in 2010 and won. He served the 102nd district, which encompasses much of Gwinnett county. He and his wife, Christa, have 3 daughters, Elizabeth Hope, Grace Kathryn and Emily Joy.

While he was in the legislature legislature in 2010, he has worked on legislation to fight human trafficking, reform election law, protect student data privacy, and allow college students to protect themselves with stun guns on campus. Of the candidates running, it is my opinion that he has the most conservative and limited government voting record. Even as a no-voter and someone who stood against the political game in the House, he was well-respected enough to earn the endorsement of more than 70 of his elected colleagues.

ISSUES: Brockway has committed to serve as SOS and says his decision to seek the office was rooted in service, not political expediency or a less crowded field, per his social media account. He plans to lead the effort to purchase new voting machines, move to an instant runoff system (eliminating the two month runoff period we have now), and to purge the database of Social Security numbers in the interest of securing data. With regard to licensing, Brockway has pledged to enforce the Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council’s duty to periodically review licensing practices for occupations, a practice that has not been done in recent years.

FUNDRAISING: As of the March 31 deadline, Buzz had raised $124,305.79 and spent $87,599.60. His campaign donations have been from other lawmakers and those in his Gwinnett community. He has spent the majority of his money on consulting, yard signs, and grassroots campaign staffers.

PROS: Brockway sports an ‘Appeal to Heaven’ pin, which means he aligned himself with the ATH caucus under the Gold Dome – a group dedicated to principles over politics. During my own time working at the Capitol, I had in-depth conversations about the elections process, how it could be more efficient, ballot access, and so many other non-SOS related issues. There were times that we disagreed vehemently, but he was always more concerned about understanding why someone felt a certain way than he was with being ‘right.’

CONS: Buzz is the underfunded candidate and he has struggled to get his message out. To be blunt, my concern with Buzz is that he is actually too nice to everyone, even those who have burned him politically. Perhaps that isn’t a con, perhap it is. That’s a personal decision. He also supported SB 133 in 2015, to give the Governor the power to takeover failing school districts.

Josh McKoon

State Senator (Columbus) & Attorney
Visit his website.

McKoon, who has been a state Senator since 2011, knows people in every corner of the state. Whether he helped someone with a legal issue in his capacity as an attorney or if he spoke in front of a crowd on his religious freedom legislation, McKoon is a household name in many places. His stances, while they are his own, are divisive. His religious stances have angered, maybe enraged, those on the left side of the aisle. He is married to Jacqueline and they live in Columbus.

ISSUES: His campaign platform includes preventing illegal aliens from improperly voting, requiring Photo ID for every vote cast, reforming the licensure process to make it easier for Georgians to start and grow their own business, and implementing a database to track all state expenditures.

FUNDRAISING: According to the March 31 reporting paperwork, McKoon had raised $215,385.09 and spent $91,384.99. His funding is comprised of lawmakers, citizens, and organizations with a good blend of each. His money has been spent on consulting, staffers, advertising, and signs.

PROS: You know where Josh McKoon stands on every issue. He is vocal and explanatory in his stances. When I don’t agree with him, I can almost always count on understanding why he believes something. He also doesn’t have a track record of flipping back and forth on issues and he will stay the course (his course), even in heat of public blowback.

CONS: His last session in the General Assembly was a rough one. He voted for and co-sponsored some pretty abysmal legislation, including co-sponsoring SB 336 which allows the GBI to access information from electronic and communication service providers (like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, etc) and prohibits those companies from acknowledging to their customers that their information has been subpoenaed by law enforcement. He’s also co-sponsored legislation in the past to collect DNA for persons arrested, not convicted, of felony crimes.

Brad Raffensperger

Former State Representative (Johns Creek), Business Owner
Visit his website.

Brad is CEO and owner of Tendon Systems, LLC, a specialty contracting and engineering design firm. He also owns and operates specialty steel manufacturing plants based in Columbus, GA and Forsyth County, GA. He also served as State Representative in District 50, which encompasses Johns Creek. He touts his legislative record of never voting for a tax increase on his website, which offers very little information. His recent mailer distributed says he was A-rated by the NRA, earned a 100% rating with the Faith & Freedom Coalition, and an A-rating by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. He and his wife, Tricia, live in Johns Creek.

ISSUES: His website has no information on his issue positions, but the mailer I received last week says he believes only American citizens should vote, he supports paper ballots for verification of votes, he would like to reduce regulation and eliminate unnecessary licensing, and he will ‘lead a statewide crackdown to stop sex trafficking in Georgia.’

FUNDRAISING: As of the March 31 campaign finance report, Raffensperger collected $343,845.00 in donations and spent $220,768.36 of that money on consulting, campaign staffers, legal fees, and advertising through his consultant team. On April 17, Raffensperger put $500,000 of his own money into the campaign as a ‘loan,’ meaning he expects to pay the money back to himself by campaign donations at a later time.

PROS: Raffensperger is very reasonable and open-minded. He is, by every definition of the word, conservative.

CONS: His campaign has a focus on sex trafficking. I received a mailer from his campaign just last week that says he will “lead to shut down corporations laundering money for sex trafficking and illegal drug operations that prey on our children.” This is a bit of inside baseball here, but our state has, in recent years, made some mega-strides to crack down on human trafficking, but in doing so, our lawmakers have sacrificed liberty, limited government, and quite frankly, the proper role of government in order to pass these measures. Raffensperger has supported all of those measures. And…sex trafficking is not an issue for the Secretary of State – it’s a law enforcement issue.

(A search was made on Facebook, the campaign website, and YouTube for a video of the ad running on TV right now by Raffensperger, but could not be located. The article will be updated should it appear on the interwebs)

All four of the candidates used their fundraising money to pay the $3,719.10 qualifying fee to the Georgia Republican Party in order to run for office. Brockway, McKoon, and Raffensperger are all pushing their endorsement by Georgia Right to Life, though the endorsement has nothing to do with the office.

A con across all four is that they all live in metro areas of the state and each have spent very little time in rural Georgia. While the Secretary of State’s office is operational and bureaucratic in nature, access is a huge thing. If the campaign trail is an indicator of their representation of the state south of Macon, they all have work to do as little time has been spent in our most southern counties. Kemp, as Secretary of State, has repeatedly visited all 159 counties in Georgia in his official capacity. The next SOS will have large shoes to fill in terms of visibility and accessibility.

The upside is that all four of the people running are actually good humans, which is something we don’t usually see across the board in a primary race.

All four will be on the Republican ballot on May 22. As promised, I won’t use this platform to sway your decision. I urge you to do further research if you have more questions and pick the person you feel is most qualified to serve, not the one you feel has the best chance at winning.

The Lieutenant Governor is the second-highest ranking position in the state and will be charged with the day-to-day operations of the Senate. The race has actually garnered more media attention over the last several months due to heavyweight endorsements and negative campaigning,

The nice thing about all three candidates is that they’ve all served in public office before, so we have records to look to when comparing what they’re saying on the campaign trail. This is a good thing because only one of the candidates has outlined issues on his website. The worst thing about all three is that neither have roots in rural Georgia, leaving much concern for Georgians who face different battles than those in metro Atlanta.

For me, the most exciting thing about the Lieutenant Governor’s race is that I will actually have the opportunity to cast a vote. Unfortunately, since I have been old enough to vote, Casey Cagle has been in office and I have never cast a vote for him. I always had to skip the race or write someone in. So 2018 is a big year!

Here’s my breakdown of the three Republican candidates seeking to be our state’s next Lieutenant Governor.

Pictured LEFT to RIGHT: Geoff Duncan, Rick Jeffares, David Shafer

Geoff Duncan

Businessman, Former State Representative – Home in Forsyth County.
Visit his website

Duncan was elected in 2012 and sworn in to the Georgia House in 2013. He served on the House Banks & Banking, Information & Audits, Interstate Cooperation, Science & Technology, and Ways & Means committees. He and his wife, Brooke, have three sons.

His website is light on detailed information, whether biographical or policy positions, leaving much to the imagination and instead focuses on higher-level positions of the role of government, specifically saying his goals are to empower job creators, empower parents (and limit bureaucracy), fight for innocent life, and dismantle government programs.

While in the legislature, he was responsible for ‘Michael’s Law,’ a bill that spawned from  an accident in Bulloch County that led to the death of a student in a bar. The legislation expanded government oversight for bars and limited the types of people who could work in them. The legislation had a direct impact on college towns. He also co-sponsored legislation on programmable thermostats, a bill to eliminate drugs and over-the-counter drugs from the state sales tax exemption, and he tried to reform the income tax deduction for doctors, nurses, and PAs. Duncan was also the lead sponsor on legislation to call for a Constitutional Amendment to allow for secret ballots of elections of public officers (for instance, when public employees or officers have to vote on something that could affect their employment if the ballot was not secret).

PROS: He was the lead sponsor of the income tax credit for donations to rural hospitals. The legislation has worked as an incentive for more people to donate to struggling hospitals in many parts of our state and the region I live in has benefited greatly. In fact, Evans Memorial Hospital is one of the biggest beneficiaries. Duncan was also part of one of the most conservative caucuses in the Georgia House during his time in the legislature and his voting record is conservatively sound. I supported about 90% of the votes he cast as a lawmaker and in 2013, 2014, and 2015, he took some tough hits politically while standing for principle. By and large, he supported guns, lowering taxes, health care freedom, and limited government.

CONS: Left his seat in the middle of his term (September 2017) to run for higher office, saddling taxpayers with the cost of a special election. He also served in the House, which is the opposite chamber of the Senate, meaning there will be a small learning curve on operations. He’s also run a campaign largely based on negative attack ads on his opponents, which has driven up name recognition as the person leveraging the attacks, but has left him with fewer talking points on his own platform. Where I differed with his positions in the legislature stem from his use of ‘incentives’ or altering the tax code. I’m a firm supporter in starting from scratch instead of more exceptions and carve outs here and there.

FUNDRAISING: As of the March 31, reporting deadline, Duncan showed $788,058.72 in donations to date with just over $279,000 in expenditures. He also reported a $250,000 debt for the primary race and $100,000 in debt for the run-off (should he advance after May 22). The donations he’s received are balanced between individuals, corporations (finance and developers seem to rule), and other elected officials.

Rick Jeffares

Businessman, Former State Senator – Home in Henry County.

Visit his website

Jeffares is a former County Commissioner and former State Senator elected in 2010. He also has his own business, J&T Environmental Services, an operation and maintenance services company. He also serves as a project manager for G. Ben Turnipseed Engineers. He and his wife have 4 children.

When he served in the State Senate, he was a member of the Senate Appropriations, Ethics, Natural Resources & the Environment (Vice Chair), Regulated Industries & Utilities (Chair), and State Institutions & Property committees.

He’s been fairly quiet on the campaign trail, at least in south Georgia, mostly visiting cities and counties where his company has contracts. He is the closest we’ll get to a candidate with rural Georgia understanding, as he is from middle-ish Georgia’s Henry County.

On his website, Jeffares outlines a plan where he says he plans to RESTORE ‘conservative values, fiscal discipline, technical education, and rural economic development,’ REDUCE ‘the state budget, repeal 2 regulations for every one new 1, tuition, and the tax burden,’ and to REFORM ethics laws.

In the legislature, Jeffares sponsored legislation to allow physicians assistants to prescribe hydrocodone opioids, a bill to allow for nonpartisan elections at the local level (district attorney, sheriff, coroner, tax commissioner, etc), and one of the earlier craft brewery bills. He also co-sponsored a bill to allow home school students to participate in extracurricular activities, a bill to allow for unmanned speed detection devices in school zones, and one to have different licenses for people who are US citizens from those who are not citizens.

PROS: His voting record has been mediocre, which is actually pretty great for the liberal Senate Georgia has. His NO button was used mildly.

CONS: Jeffares left his seat in the middle of his term to run for higher office, saddling taxpayers with the cost of a special election. He also wasn’t out front in the Senate much leading the charge on particular issues. The state campaign finance site also indicates that Jeffares has donated thousands from his Senate fund to other candidates in contested races around the state.

FUNDRAISING: As of the March 31 filing deadline, Jeffares has raised $826,018.00 and spent $445,748.34. The majority of his spending has been on campaign staffers and consulting services.

David Shafer

State Senator, Former President Pro-Tem of the Senate – Home in Gwinnett County

Visit his website

Shafer was elected to the State Senate in 2002 during a special election. Before that, he was the Executive Director of the Georgia Republican Party. He is married to Lee and has a daughter and step-son.

Shafer’s website has concise issue positions on everything from taxes and spending to education and traffic. In his video interview with AllOnGeorgia, Shafer focused heavily on his track record in the Senate, but also on reforming the processes in the Senate to ensure they’re more transparent. (See below)

In addition to serving as the Senate President Pro-Tem, Shafer served on the Senate Appropriations, Banking & Financial Institutions, Finance, Government Oversight, Health & Human Services, Insurance & Labor, Reapportionment & Redistricting, Regulated Industries & Utilities, and Rules committees.

Shafer is a long-serving Senator, so his legislative record would be hard to sum up for this brief article, but in more recent legislative terms, he sponsored legislation to prevent credit reporting agencies from charging a fee to freeze and unfreeze accounts of consumers during identity theft investigations, he’s supported efforts to halt sanctuary cities and policies for illegal immigrants, and he pushed legislation like the adoption bill and the brunch bill.

In his campaign for Lieutenant Governor, he’s been endorsed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, GeorgiaCarry.org, the National Rifle Association, Georgia Right to Life, the Georgia Life Alliance, and more than 200 current and former members of the Georgia General Assembly.

PROS: He led the charge for zero based budgeting and he’s always been a strong supporter (and sponsor of) 2nd Amendment legislation. You may not always agree with his positions, but you’ll know where he stands on issues due to his voting record.

CONS: He has served in office for a long time and is, by definition, a career politician. He did support one of the state’s largest tax increase (HB 170 in 2015) but he represents a metro county so depending on where you live, you may or may not find that as a negative. Shafer dodged one question – on CBD oil access/expansion- during his interview with AllOnGeorgia (see below).

FUNDRAISING: As of March 31, the Shafer campaign raised $1,585,548.94 and $183,510.90 in expenditures. The majority of his donations are from within the boundaries of the state.

Senator Shafer did sit down with AllOnGeorgia. My candidate interview in its entirety with him is below.

The Republican Primary is set for May 22. Early voting is currently taking place and runs through May 18. Please vote for the candidate who most aligns with your values and convictions, not the one you think will win.

With seven choices, five of whom are garnering the majority of the media and polling attention, a good number of people are still deciding between one, two, or even three candidates.

So, I figured I would offer my perspective on the candidates based on what I’ve seen in the race since October.

I had the opportunity to sit as a panelist in the first gubernatorial debate last fall and in my capacity with AllOnGeorgia, I have been able to interview each of the top 5 contenders, with the exception of Casey Cagle (though he’s been in government long enough and appeared on enough earned media spots that it’s easy to gather where he stands on certain issues).

The Republican Primary alone has drawn more than $17 million in donations to Cagle, Hill, Kemp, Tippins, and Williams and a little over three weeks remain. Even with the large amounts of money flowing to each campaign, the issues remain on the backburner of most of the media coverage.

PART I – ISSUE CAMPAIGNING

Casey Cagle – Current Lieutenant Governor, Former State Senator (website)

Cagle is a charismatic politician who is comfortable catering his message to his crowds. He has a 26 year career under his belt, meaning his laundry list of policy-based talking points runs deep and voters tend to believe what he is saying because of his high name recognition. He also has the money to push any message to any location.

• Cagle has promised to create 500,000 new jobs in Georgia in his first term.
• He has promised more reversible lanes on highways and to continuing pushing for rural broadband.
• He has promised to maintain a balanced budget without raising taxes.
• Cagle pledged, on his website, to ‘protect hunting heritage’ and law-abiding citizens have the right to protect themselves.

He’s raised about $7 million in this campaign.

PROS: You know what you’ll get with Casey Cagle. He’s presided over the Georgia Senate for the last decade so his learning curve won’t be steep. He already knows how to make sausage. He’s a moderate in every sense of the word, which would make him appealing to Democrats in a General Election as well.

CONS: His track record on the Second Amendment is abysmal. He helped block CBD oil legislation. As lieutenant governor, Cagle has not had to cast a vote (or as some might see it – take a stand) on an issue in 12 years. He’s chalked up Senate failures to ‘lacking time’ despite his own efforts to block initiatives. And if you don’t like someone who keeps score and holds grudges, a Cagle governorship would be a nightmare for you.

Hunter Hill – Former State Senator (Website)

Hunter Hill is a former State Senator who was elected in 2012, so while he is experienced in the political arena, his tenure wasn’t long enough to destroy his idealism or his conservative leanings. He’s also a combat veteran which brings about different leadership skills from someone who has never served in –understated — ‘high-stress’ situations. His slogan of being tired of politicians that ‘campaign like Ronald Reagan and govern like Barack Obama’ has brought him considerable support.

• He supports eliminating the state income tax.
• He favors religious freedom legislation.
• He opposes sanctuary cities and has vowed to block state funding to cities that shelter illegal immigrants.
• Hill has prioritized veterans in his campaign platform, something he also did while serving in the legislature.

He’s raised $2.7 million to date.

PROS: He has a legislative record we can look to for an understanding of his values. As a state senator, Hill stood against the state’s tax increases -HB 170- but still has solutions to what he opposes. He  has a strong plan for where money for things that fall into the ‘proper role of government’ should originate, like infrastructure and education. He knows how the system works, but he was never part of a ‘clique’ under the Gold Dome.

CONS: Hill resigned from his State Senate seat to run for Governor, saddling taxpayers with the cost of a special election. The press around his position on the Second Amendment position and the criticism of a vocal minority focused on the intricacies of whether or not he was an Army Ranger or Ranger-qualified have kept skeptics from jumping on his campaign bandwagon. My biggest concern all along has been his metro roots and learning curve for ‘the two Georgias’ would mean rural Georgia would be left behind.

Brian Kemp – Current Secretary of State, Former State Senator (Website)

Brian Kemp was the first candidate to sit down with AllOnGeorgia after he released his plan for rural Georgia. He answered every question I asked during our interview, without skirting the issue pressed, even when he seemed to know I may not like the answer.  His message has been consistent for the duration of his campaign, regardless of where he’s campaigning.

• Kemp has a ‘Track and Deport’ Plan for illegal immigration.
• His position on the Second Amendment is unwavering – as evidenced by his most recent campaign ad.
• The overall message of his campaign is to cut bureaucracy, which applies to every corner of the state, not just the heavily populated areas.

He’s raised $2.9 million to date.

PROS: Kemp has served in an executive position before, so his experience is not limited to the legislative branch. He’s also worked in an office that saw budget cuts and worked within those means. He’s traveled to all 159 counties and understands the difference between metro and rural Georgia. His campaign has been rooted heavily in itemized, well-thought out plans, not promises.

CONS: His time as SOS has been the source of considerable bad press and even some snafus. He’s been in politics for a while, so with that, comes relationships, donor histories, and favors.  Also, if you’re a libertarian voting in the Republican Primary, you’re probably still really ticked about the Kemp ballot access stuff.

Clay Tippins – Businessman (Website)

Tippins is a newcomer to the political arena, but he’s taken the time to research and to meet with high-ranking Georgia officials to discuss the budget and state operations practices. His lengthy business tenure puts him in a position to see Georgia like a business that should run like a well-oiled machine.

• He opposes religious freedom legislation.
• He is a no-exceptions supporter of the Second Amendment.
• His initiatives call for reducing the state income tax, but not eliminating.
• He favors transparency and accountability in government.
• Open to the idea of in-state cultivation of marijuana for CBD oil access.

He’s raised $2.5 million to date.

PROS: He’s never held political office, so he’s not a career politician. He’s a numbers guy, so efficiency is cut and dry for him. His lacking political career would make it simpler for him to objectively weigh the value of a government service or action, as opposed to someone who has spent years in the political arena.

CONS: He’s never held political office before, so we have no record to look to, no understanding of who he is under pressure, or with the crown. We only have his word to take and have to trust his sincerity.

Michael Williams – State Senator (Website)

Michael Williams is a double-edged sword. By that, I mean, most of what many of his opponents (or those not supporting him) consider his negatives are also positives. Williams considers himself an ‘outsider,’ but says it is more of a mentality than an actual position.

• He favors a state solution for law enforcement pay problems.
• Supports the Fair Tax and the elimination of the state income tax.
• Williams wants term limits for statewide elected office holders.
• He is against casinos and supports freezing college tuition rates.
• He supports Constitutional Carry.
• Williams has vowed to support a “heartbeat bill” in Georgia and to improve homeschooling laws.
• Favors in-state cultivation for marijuana for the purpose of access to CBD oil.

He’s raised about 1.78 million to date.

PROS: Williams has donated a substantial amount of money to both his Senate run in 2014 and his gubernatorial campaign, which likely means he hasn’t made extensive promises to large organizations or lobbyists. When interviewed, he was direct in his answers and unapologetic about his responses. He went on the record to say the executive branch is too powerful and that some agencies in place need to be eliminated. His CPA background puts him in a position to analyze everything.

CONS: His pro-Trump platform has silenced some of his message tailored to Georgia. He also spends a lot of time talking about his opponents when his message is one that would resonate if he focused on it. His legislative record in 2015 and 2016 indicated a different Michael Williams than the one in 2017 and 2018.He did voted for HB 170, the largest tax increase in recent state history.

PART II – EMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNING

Experts tell those in the business world that selling something requires an emotional connection, not just an end result of customer satisfaction and politics is no difference. I recognize that not all voters operate on the black and white scale of issues, and some need feelings. So let’s talk about feelings.

Cagle leaves you feeling like everything Georgia has done is exactly right and very little change is needed. If you’ve supported the last eight years of governance, Cagle reminds you why. If you haven’t supported the last eight years, well, then, you probably don’t feel energized (or anything else) by Cagle.

Hill instills the vision that every task is a mission that needs to be (and can be) accomplished. To some, it may seem robotic, but if you listen carefully, you’re more likely to hear someone who just has a list of overhauls and policy initiatives that he’s already prioritized. He offsets any type of ‘inside baseball’ with his use of personal stories, so those not entrenched with the political process can relate.

Kemp, before embarking down the road of politics, makes you feel good, even proud, about being a Georgian. His genuine demeanor is the kind most of us wish all of our politicians embodied – one that exudes honesty. His ability to build trust amongst those he’s talking to makes it easy to unite around the rest of his platform.

Tippins espouses an aura of unadulterated hard work. He gives the feeling that he’s ready to be in control and he will be the one driving the proverbial bus. He can easily embolden someone to becomes just as knowledgeable on the budgeting process and state operations as he did in his short time since announcing for Governor.

Williams’ understanding of the proper role of government and his message to shrink the power of the executive branch leaves you thinking that is actually possible to change how things are done in the State of Georgia. His message isn’t rehearsed. I remarked after the October 2017 debate that you can feel he honestly believes what he is saying. That still rings true.

I now know who I’m supporting in the Governor’s race, but I won’t be using this platform to try to sway your opinion. This is about who you want as your next leader of the state. I urge you to look at the candidates as a whole. Don’t focus on who has the most money (or the least) and try not to focus on a single issue. There are good and bad qualities about each of them, so consider them from the perspective of character and consistency.

Negative campaigning. It’s an art – one we all hate, love to hate, but probably most importantly – hate to love.

Every time campaign season comes around, regardless of which level of government, we all cringe and say “it’s never been this bad,” but a few candidates and/or elected officials get smeared, the rest of us survive, and we go back to our lives until the next time around.

The art of negative campaigning is a pillar of the political game.

So what is negative campaigning?

These days, negative campaigning seems to fall into the category of any tactic or approach to campaigning that involves the person(s) another is running against and offends any person, anywhere on any issue, regardless of whether it affects them or if they are registered to vote.

No, but seriously.

In reality, the most concise way to tell you what it is is to actually show you what it isn’t.

It isn’t voting records, campaign donations, publicly posted policy positions, references to social media account activity, a list of endorsements, or use of previously recorded statements. Also not included in the list is polling results.

These are all things that actually happened. They are verifiable facts that actually took place in the world we live in and someone was present to document or record it as a moment in history. That may sound like an extreme definition, but it’s true. And it always irks me when voting records are considered negative campaigning. If someone feels that it’s negative campaigning for another to bring up a vote they cast, perhaps the vote just had a negative impact and the candidate doesn’t want to talk about it. A vote, in and of itself, cannot be negative. Neither can a donor list. A choice was made to cast a vote and to accept a donation or endorsement. There is room in politics to challenge choices.

In fact, if you’re challenging an incumbent, a voting record should be the base camp and everything should flow from there. If you’re trying to make the case that someone should be sent home from their position – whether it be city council member or Congressman – your reasoning should be rooted in concrete information that actually took place, not because you want power or you dislike the person who holds the seat. That concept is not negative.

What is negative is distorted lies, half-truths, attacks on family, involvement of children, sexual preference, whisper campaigns, integrating fake organizations, faceless anonymous social media accounts, hit piece websites with no disclaimer about who is paying for them, news stories that resemble a campaign message more than an unbiased report, clipped robocalls with a scary voice from anonymous people, or things that aren’t relevant to actually serving in office.

Every election season, we see unaffected third-parties infiltrate local communities, whether it be a corporation or powerful lobbying organization flooding a county over an airport issue, an independent political action committee trying to sway the outcome of a House or Senate seat, or anonymous mailers making harsh accusations in the Governor’s race. We can’t always put it right into a box, but claim we know negative campaigning when we see it. We recognize it when that certain feeling comes over us at the mailbox or in the news feed.

But what really matters is whether or not it works.

Campaign staffers and consultants – those earning money off of tarnishing the images of others – say it does. The notion is that, voters don’t like the negative ads but perceptions are still changed after they are exposed to the information. Perhaps it’s even more beneficial for those who take credit for the negative attack ads because their name ID is boosted, too. And of course, political pundits like it because it offers content for discussion.

But I’m not convinced it always works.

Of course, each time it happens, there are claims of the exhaustion from “politics as usual,” but I’m not sure that’s the reason people resist negative campaigning. Sometimes it may be because it’s too late in the game and supporters are solidified, other times because the negativity hits on all the wrong issues. But when it fails, the idealist in me has to believe it fails because the attacker made a victim out of the person on the receiving end. Plus, we all wonder how it doesn’t hurt the person leveraging the attacks and if they’re so empty and unprincipled inside that they can’t discuss the positives of themselves.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh.

Negative campaigning works best on those who already weren’t supporting the person being attacked. That’s who carries the message, shares it on social media, tells a friend at church….”Did you hear…??”

Yes, Susan. We all received the mailer.

But everyone else, all the undecided voters, they’re drowning in a sea of information that is presented beautifully well – often over and over – from people they don’t know. More than likely, if they’re still undecided, it’s because they aren’t an ‘insider’ and they don’t live and breathe the political game every day like some of us. It doesn’t make them wrong, it just puts them in a different position to digest negative campaigning. And we all know far too well that the undecided voter is beyond unpredictable.

So the ‘Art of Negative Campaigning,’ I suppose, is that there really isn’t any ‘Art’ about it all and, depending on the demographics, the issues, the person running, the person leveraging the attacks, the people sharing the attacks after the attacks have been made, when the negative campaigning begins, whether or not it’s believable, whether or not it’s verifiable, and the overall outlook on life the voter has, it’s possible that it might work. The only guarantee is that voters – and non-voters – collectively unite to pray that Election Day…or a giant meteor…would just hurry up and get here.

In true political nerd fashion, I spent my Saturday morning in Milledgeville attending the first Republican gubernatorial debate. I also had the pleasure of sitting front and center on the panel to ask questions of candidates. In all my cynicism, I can still say the forum was informative and a mechanism for distinguishing candidates.

In a surprise to even myself, I found that I agree with each candidate on at least one issue, though the disagreements were plentiful, too. But below I’m going to offer a preliminary analysis of debate #1, highlighting their strong points and offering points for reflection for improvement.

Listening to one minute responses on issues that are sure to affect us all is not ideal, and if I had it my way, I would interview each one on camera for an hour for a comprehensive and well-rounded picture, but I’m neither the boss nor the scheduler, so my compilation of thoughts is based on what I saw Saturday and not what I know of the candidates prior to October 7.

Phil Kent and I each had the opportunity to ask 3 questions. Phil went with illegal immigration, casinos, and transportation while I tackled tax exemptions, cannabis oil, and rural health care. They also answered two audience questions on education and religious liberty. The entire forum is available for viewing on AllOnGeorgia here.

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Senator Hunter Hill, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Marc Alan Urbach, and Senator Michael Williams were all present. Clay Tippins was not in attendance.

In terms of staying on topic, we didn’t get off to too great of a start. Michael Williams was the only candidate to answer my question about whether or not Georgia has too many tax breaks for large corporations. The others diverted to income tax discussions and tax reform generally, despite my question’s specificity.

All of the candidates seemed to agree on illegal immigration enforcement and the blocking of in-state tuition for undocumented students. While I do not doubt the difficulty in discussing immigration without including the federal government, they all muddied the waters on what “should be done” versus “what can actually be done” here in Georgia.

I was disappointed across the board with their positions on cannabis oil and in-state cultivation. Only Williams and Urbach said they were in favor of expanding the list of conditions for cannabis oil use, while Kemp said he was open to listening. None support in-state cultivation for any reason, citing a pathway to recreational marijuana. A recurring justification was federal law and consistency: if we are going to enforce federal immigration laws, we should also enforce federal drug laws. Similarly, they were all firm NOs on casino gambling in Georgia.

Each candidate seemed to excel on the question about the rural healthcare crisis – though only one actually addressed the rural health care crisis. Each offered valuable points on health care overall, but my takeaway was that Kemp has the greatest sense of clarity on rural healthcare – and rural issues overall. He was able to offer solutions that have a chance to be implemented, and in the short term. His proposal of telemedicine by way of broadband Internet and recognizing medical infrastructure as the lifeline for young people to return back to their communities after getting an education demonstrated that Kemp won’t have to wait for local government leaders to explain problems. My hope is that as we get closer to election time, they’ll all focus less on the Affordable Care Act and more on what work can be done in the state legislature without federal involvement.

POSITIVES

Cagle is comfortable in front of an audience and he’s no stranger to the political arena. It works in his favor as long winded answers seem to roll off his tongue as if he’d rehearsed for hours. His ability to cite relevant statistics – and even cater them to the crowd he’s addressing…in this case, Baldwin County – surpasses that of anyone else on stage.

Hill is direct. He is honest about tough issues like transportation and education as well as from where he thinks the money should originate. When he speaks, you can’t help but feel he is telling you the truth. He offers personal stories in his answers to illustrate that he actually does understand the issues being discussed.

Kemp is seasoned, sincere, and delivers his message in a very relaxed manner. He is good at making voters feel like they’ll be a part of the process and that he is ready to listen. It is clear he is already familiar with the difficulties different counties across the state experience, so he is past the learning curve.

Urbach, whether you agree with him or not, is memorable because he’s entertaining to watch. While awkward for most of us, his praise for Senator Hill was heartwarming. Urbach acknowledged agreement with other candidates far more than any of the others, which, in my opinion, shows he does not compare himself to them. He is comfortable in acknowledging similarities, which I’m sure is due, in part, to political naivite – not a bad thing.

Williams is consistent in his responses. He has a campaign message of an ‘conservative outsider ‘ that he manages to insert into every answer without being blunt and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Whether you agree with what he is saying or not, it is clear he honestly believes in his message and his platform. He is not simply trying to mirror the campaign or the success of our President.

CRITIQUES

Cagle struggled to outline his focus on rural healthcare and instead defaulted to metro healthcare and problems in insurance. Cagle’s focal point in the rural v. metro discussion was one sided and seemingly unconcerned with the far reaching corners of the state. He also struggled to identify specific issues he championed as a legislator or as Lieutenant Governor and focused more on what “Republicans” have done.

Hill, even in his directness, wasn’t assertive. He had a few opportunities to say more by using fewer words, but left the opportunity on the table. Hill has a lot of great ideas based on very conservative values, but did not offer a way to implement them. Given the short amount of time, I wouldn’t expect that on every question, but of the 8 questions ask, no answer focused on ways he already has accomplished something or ways he plans to in the future.

Kemp needs to show more passion while sharing his views. While I haven’t always agreed with his positions over the years, I’ve never questioned his character – and that is something many others will say, too – and I don’t believe we saw his true character reflected in his responses on Saturday.

Urbach needs to watch out for the double edged sword of being memorable. He cracked a lot of jokes and spent a substantial amount of time talking about things not brought up as part of the question posed. He is right on issues and needs to laser in on seriousness so people actually listen to what he is saying.

Williams spent a lot of time attacking Casey Cagle. At one point, Williams mentioned that the establishment and the media have been after him and I believe that if he is battling to set a narrative about himself, he should spend more time articulating who he is, step away from the shadows of Trump, and focus less on the problems stemming from inside baseball with Cagle.

I am still an undecided voter, but I know exactly what I’m looking for in a candidate. No one deserves my vote or your vote – all of them must earn it, so over the next seven months, I encourage you to decide what your core issues are and keep a close eye on each of these candidates.

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