Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:
The GOP team finally gets together.
Atlanta mayor hopeful about 2024 DNC.
Home Depot founder helping Nikki Haley.
Was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talking about Herschel Walker recently when he referred to “candidate quality” as he downplayed Republicans’ chances of retaking the Senate?
McConnell has never offered more detail about which party nominees he’s worried about, but he hosted a fundraiser Friday night in Louisville to boost the former UGA footballer’s campaign nonetheless.
While Walker’s team only quietly confirmed that the Georgia Republican was getting big time help from McConnell, photos from the event show Walker rubbing elbows with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who is running for Senate in North Carolina.
Budd is the only one of the three who has been ahead in recent Senate polls, but his race is rated as a ‘toss up’ even by GOP experts.
McConnell adviser Scott Jennings gave everyone a view into the fundraiser, tweeting out a picture of Walker, Oz, McConnell, and Budd.
BIG NAMES. McConnell wasn’t the only national Republican reinforcing his support for Walker over the weekend. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a potential 2024 candidate for President, trekked to Georgia on Saturday to mobilize conservatives behind Walker.
Cruz told dozens of activists at his Truth and Courage PAC’s summit in Buckhead that the nation has paid the political price after Georgia voters “tragically” elected Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in 2021.
The Texas Republican called Warnock a “perfectly nice fellow whose views are radical and extreme and wildly out of step with the people of Georgia.” Walker, meanwhile, is “truly an amazing man.”
It was notable that Cruz’s remarks echoed Republicans’ strategy nationally and locally not to attempt to demonize Warnock’s character — only his votes — after efforts to paint him as a monster during the 2020 campaign failed.
Cruz also spent time targeting policy decisions by the Biden White House, which he told the crowd would offer an opportunity for Republicans to benefit in November.
“Every time we see some dumbass decision from this White House, part of me grieves,” said Cruz. “But part of me quietly celebrates.”
Swing State's paid subscribers receive text alerts from our reporting team. See below for how to sign up.
FISH FRY UNITY. For the first time since the Georgia GOP primary voters made their choices for the top state races this election year - four months ago - those Republicans have finally been seen together at a campaign event.
Gov. Brian Kemp, Senate GOP nominee Herschel Walker, and Lt. Gov. nominee Burt Jones shared the same turf at the annual 8th District GOP fish fry at the state fairgrounds in Perry, hosted by former Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Swing State Georgia to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.