COLUMBUS, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump will appear Saturday before a convention of Georgia Republicans with a lot on its plate – not the least of which is the future of what’s now a very divided party.
Republicans in Columbus will vote Saturday on its state party leadership and will set the stage on how the party aims to try to shape the 2024 presidential election.
"I’m here to yell at the Republicans 'get off your behind and fight back.' The country’s in grave danger. What are you doing?" said Bob Kunst, who was in Columbus to cajole Georgia Republicans to support Trump and not Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
It’s not a heavy lift in a convention that’s rife with updated support for the embattled former president -- in a place where Trump himself will give a keynote speech Saturday.
But some Republicans are saying, enough already.
"Really, Donald Trump doesn’t have anything I need to hear him say," said former Cobb County Republican chair Jason Shepherd, who was en route to Columbus where he plans to staff a booth for DeSantis and then probably leave before Trump speaks.
"I think we’re seeing a party that’s moving to the extreme," Shepherd said. "The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump may be the only candidate running for president that Joe Biden can beat."
Republicans Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are among the Republicans declining to appear at this weekend's convention. Both successfully scuttled Trump's effort to change Georgia's electoral votes in 2020 from Biden to Trump, saying the switch would be illegal after Biden won the state's popular vote.
Asked if this is a convention of extremists, GA GOP chairman David Shafer noted "it’s the biggest (GA GOP) convention ever. It’s got something for everybody."
Shafer will leave the chairman’s spot Saturday. Shafer was a stout Trump backer in 2020 - and has been among those targeted in a Fulton County criminal investigation into Trump’s effort to overturn that election.
Former state senator Josh McKoon, also a fan of Trump, is running to replace Shafer.
"I absolutely want this job," McKoon said. "You can feel the energy in this crowd. People are really excited about putting the adults back in charge in Washington D.C. And I’m excited to have a role to play in doing that."