Josh McKoon gets backing from President Trump in Georgia GOP chairman's race; Harris County's Charlie Bailey now chairs state Dems
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — Georgia statewide politics has a decidedly West Georgia flavor.
The new chairman of the state Democratic Party, Charlie Bailey, is from Harris County. State Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon is a former state senator from Columbus.
Bailey is in place going into the crucial 2026 election cycle. Josh McKoon is fighting to keep his job at the Republican State Convention next month.
And McKoon got a powerful push in that direction late last week.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the Georgia GOP race. He gave his full-throated endorsement of Josh McKoon in a May 8 social media post.
The president's post read partly: 'Josh is 100 percent MAGA, and I know he will continue to do a fantastic job.'
'I really enjoyed the working relationship we had during the election campaign,' McKoon said. 'And I think the fact that you point out that he would weigh in on something like this shows you how important the president thinks the 2020 election is. And how important it is to him to have people he trusts in these positions to carry the ball into the endzone on behalf of our candidates.'
Bailey, who was elected earlier this month to lead the Georgia Democrats, will fight McKoon every step of the way next year.
'I am not surprised.' he said of McKoon's endorsement from Trump. 'Josh has supported these MAGA policies and Donald Trump every step of the way, as is his right to do. Donald Trump probably owes him that.'
The 2026 Georgia election will feature some compelling races, including Democrat Jon Ossoff's attempt to hold on to his U.S. Senate seat. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced last week he will not challenge Ossoff. McKoon says the Republican bench is deep.
'And unlike the presidential election where we knew who are candidate was well ahead of time, and we were able to consolidate our party behind that candidate, President Trump,' McKoon said. 'This time it's more likely that you and I will be having this conversation in June of next year, 'OK, you got your nominee. Now, what are you going to do.'
Bailey speculates why Kemp did not enter the race against Ossoff.
'People from Georgia ain't for Medicaid cuts, cutting HeadStart firing people from the CDC, cutting veterans benefits,' Bailey said. 'I hadn't talk to Gov. Kemp about this, but if I had to guess – if I was a betting man – he knows everything I just said is true. He doesn't want to be out there defending Donald Trump's actions on these things.'
We are just 53 weeks away from next year's primaries. They are scheduled for May 19th, 2026.
The Republican state Convention is set for June 6th and 7th. McKoon is facing opposition from David Cross of Gwinnett County.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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