Kemp booed and Raffensperger censured at Georgia GOP convention

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was booed and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was censured at the Georgia GOP convention Saturday, demonstrating former President Donald Trump’s hold over members of the Georgia Republican Party.

The reaction from members of the Georgia GOP comes months after both Kemp and Raffensperger refused to help the former President overturn the election results after his loss to President Joe Biden. Trump has endorsed one of Raffensperger’s primary opponents, GOP Rep. Jody Hice, who has embraced the ex-President’s falsehoods about the election.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp was greeted with boos so loud as he spoke at the convention that it was difficult to hear his speech from the press area for about 30 seconds. And while Kemp dodged any formal vote of disapproval, Raffensperger was officially censured Saturday due to “dereliction of his constitutional duty,” according to the newspaper.

A copy of the resolution obtained by the newspaper calls on Kemp and all elected officials to “repair the damage that has been done and commit themselves to securing Georgia’s elections.”

The animosity toward Kemp and Raffensperger from Georgia Republicans on Saturday mirrors the hostility faced by other GOP leaders who have spoken out against the former President.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney avoided censure but was booed by GOP delegates at last month’s Utah Republican Party’s organizing convention by people who were still angry about the 2012 presidential nominee’s votes to convict Trump in both his 2020 and 2021 impeachment trials.

And Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was ousted from House Republican leadership, after publicly rejecting for months Trump’s lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. Cheney — who also voted to impeach Trump this year — had been the third-ranking Republican in the House.