GOP’s Chaotic Week in #GASEN Primary: Opposition to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, Continued Infighting, and Potential FEC Violations

The headache for Georgia Republicans continued this week in the Senate primary as their candidates opposed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, took aim at Trump’s handpicked candidate, and one ran into trouble with the Federal Election Commission. Here’s the latest: 

• Every Georgia GOP Senate candidate is opposing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. As Senator Reverend Warnock helps deliver the largest long-term investment in America’s infrastructure and global competitiveness in nearly a century, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that every Republican vying to challenge him opposes the plan to “devote tens of billions of dollars to new roads, bridges, broadband pipelines and other infrastructure projects in Georgia.” The opposition comes as “local Republican officials endorse the new spending, saying it’s much needed for a range of priorities both big and small.”
  • Herschel Walker has tied himself to former President Donald Trump, who has tried to derail the package.
  • Rep. Buddy Carter — who insists he’ll run for Senate if Walker bows out — opposes the infrastructure plan that would invest in Georgia’s roads, ports, and bridges.
  • Failed politician Kelly Loeffler opposes the widely popular infrastructure plan, calling it a “disastrous bill.”
  • Gary Black “offered a shrug” when asked about the 19 Republican Senators who crossed the aisle to support the infrastructure bill, noting that “this senator would have voted no.”
  • Latham Saddler “flatly rejected” the plan to heavily invest in renovating Georgia’s public transit, replacing lead water pipes, and expanding broadband coverage across the state.
  • And Kelvin King called the investment in American infrastructure and global competitiveness “absurd.”
• GOP Senate candidates are attempting to “outflank” Herschel Walker — Trump’s hand-picked candidate for the race — who continues to loom large over the field. On Wednesday, Walker told the Washington Examiner that he’s still taking the Senate decision “very seriously,” while worried Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly pushes failed former Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler to consider running again in 2022, and fellow candidates aggressively take aim at the former president’s preferred nominee. 
• Rep. Buddy Carter — who has repeatedly noted that he’ll join the GOP primary if Trump’s hand-picked candidate Herschel Walker bows out — may have violated federal election law ahead of a possible entrance into Georgia’s U.S. Senate race. As the Savannah Morning News reports, Carter spent tens of thousands of dollars on a statewide ad without declaring his candidacy to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 15 days, as required by law. A formal complaint has been filed with the FEC requesting a swift investigation into violations by Rep. Carter and his campaign.

Read more on Republicans’ #GASEN chaos here.

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