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Capitol Beat
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Bowing to the realities of the coronavirus pandemic, the Georgia Republican Party has canceled both its state convention and a series of congressional district meetings across the state.
This year’s state convention was to be held May 29-30 in Cobb County. The congressional district meetings were supposed to take place this Saturday.
A letter Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer sent to members of the state Republican Committee last week cited the stay-at-home executive order Gov. Brian Kemp issued late last month and extended last week as making it “legally and practically impossible to physically stage” the conventions.
Shafer pledged the party would come up with other options for choosing delegates to the Republican National Convention set for August in Charlotte, N.C.
“Your state Executive Committee is absolutely committed to preserving our ability to be fully represented at the Republican National Convention,” Shafer wrote.
The national convention still is scheduled to take place Aug. 24-27, despite the pandemic. The Democrats were to have convened in Milwaukee in mid-July but have moved the date back to mid-August.
(Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government through Georgia Press Association members, such as the White County News.)