It’s not unheard of for upheaval to emerge in a state party, especially between opposing factions. It’s also not the first time state chairs have been ousted. But the fact that a handful of state parties are all experiencing serious internal problems less than a year before a presidential election in states that are essential for any Republican nominee to win has triggered alarm bells among veteran Republican state party officials.
“The job of the Republican Party, the job of the Democratic Party, the job of any party is to get their nominee elected whether you like the nominee or not,” Jason Shepherd, a longtime Georgia Republican activist and former Cobb County Republican Party chairman, said. “If you don’t like the nominee and can’t get them elected then you need to step back from your party position whether you’re a Democrat or Republican. But this is all about one person, so those of us who have been involved in the party for – in my case, 30 years – are frustrated by the fact that we are not giving our primary voters the benefit of the doubt and that the party is trying to manipulate the process to choose who the party leadership wants.”
The fears extend beyond the presidential level. State parties play a key role in activating voters, organizing door knocking efforts and corralling donors. That’s starting to look like a luxury, argued Henry Barbour, a longtime member of the Republican National Committee from Mississippi.
Full article at: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/20/politics/republican-state-parties-chaos/index.html