“Fix Was In” for Kemp’s “Political Mega-Donor” Senate Pick, GOP Infighting Worsens

On Day Before Formal Announcement, Georgia Republicans Still Embroiled in Messy Intra-Party Feud

Atlanta — Just ahead of the formal announcement of his Senate pick, criticism continues to roll in for Governor* Brian Kemp over his hand-picked choice of “political mega-donor” Kelly Loeffler for Georgia’s open Senate seat, despite Kemp’s desperate attempts to defend against an already vicious stream of attacks from his own party.

Now, ahead of his announcement, even Kemp allies like Erick Erickson are questioning his sham application process and his poor handling of his own party’s subsequent infighting:

“It really can’t be a coincidence that she applied at the very last minute and then they shut off applications. It looks very much like the fix was in, that it was a done deal. In the two weeks since, there haven’t been a ton of efforts to reach out to these conservative groups who have expressed concern.”

This comes after Sean Hannity already took to the airwaves this week to continue the Kemp bashing, saying that he had “no idea” why Kemp was appointing Loeffler, calling her “an untested, big-Republican Romney donor described by many as a ‘RINO’.” Watch:

Hannity has of course previously launched tirades against Kemp and Loeffler on his radio show, where he not only said Kemp was making “a big mistake” but went as far as to call Kemp and his aides “jackasses” and encouraged his listeners to flood the governor’s office with calls opposing her — which they did.

Loeffler has already faced plenty of criticism and anger from the Republican base, who have called her “unacceptable,” “the wrong choice” and “disqualified,” and mocked Kemp’s whole selection process as “a fiasco.” And after revealing the timing of his announcement, Kemp got pilloried again, with one top Georgia Republican calling his timeframe, “either political naive, petty, pretentious, or all of the above.” Ouch.

With the stakes higher than ever for Georgia Republicans with two vulnerable Senate seats on the ballot, petty infighting and rising tensions are the last thing the GOP can afford. And yet, as the formal announcement approaches, all the signs are still there for “an all-out Republican feud” in 2020.

“Governor Kemp’s pick of a wealthy political mega-donor for a Senate seat has done nothing but intensify the already vicious attacks members of his own party are launching against him — and her,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “His sham application process has resulted in a total mess of an appointment that’s leaving Republicans with a wounded candidate even before she’s formally announced.”

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