ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s General Assembly opens an election-year session Monday that could be dominated by Republican primary politics, with Gov. Brian Kemp facing internal challengers and some other key Republicans reaching for higher office.
Times are good in some ways for lawmakers, with billions in the bank to spend on election-year pay raises and other goodies. Lawmakers are also likely to find broad agreement on proposals to reform mental health.
With the University of Georgia playing for a national football championship Monday, the session’s first week could have a slow start. But with former President Donald Trump opposing Kemp and backing an insurgent challenger for lieutenant governor, a GOP race to the right appears likely as Republicans compete for their party’s nomination on May 24.
That dynamic has already been on display with Kemp endorsing plans to end requirements for permits to carry guns, while primary opponents David Perdue and Vernon Jones slag Kemp for dragging his feet on the issue.
Democrats won’t be immune from election-year political needs either, with a number of the party’s lawmakers seeking statewide office.